


Avi's Dragon

by Draganonymous



Series: Avi's Angel [2]
Category: Pentatonix
Genre: Angst and Feels, Gen, No Smut, Pre-Relationship, baby acquisition, dragon - Freeform, slight crossovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-15
Updated: 2016-12-12
Packaged: 2018-05-14 04:46:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 54
Words: 51,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5730049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Draganonymous/pseuds/Draganonymous
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Avi wanted a dragon for Christmas. "It could happen," he told people. Well, now it has!!!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Angel Meets the Family

Avi had gotten the hint that most of what he knew was classified. He tried to think of a good answer. Then he remembered that while _she_ could not lie, _he_ could!  
   "I don't know."  
   Esther glared down her nose, over her glasses.  
   "I don't! Her egg was dropped off, with a waiver. Signed in _blood!_ " This was news to his dragon! "It said if anybody but you and the band found out about her egg, they'd take her away!" He palmed her head, as though physical contact could thwart an archangel. Her skull barely filled his hand.  
   Esther softened perceptibly. "And now? Are we allowed to tell anyone now?" She lay a hand on her brother's arm. "How are we going to keep her a secret? We're about to go back to our entire That's not even taking into account the fact that we tour the _world!_ "  
   Avi could only shrug.  
   Without opening her eyes, "Angel" concentrated on becoming invisible. She imagined an empty space where his shoulders were.  
   She knew she'd done it when Esther gasped, and almost immediately Avi's hand flew up to find her again. She chuckled, low and throaty. She opened her eyes, looked at her own paw until it reappeared.  
   "Did ye not think He would protect one of His own Creations?"  
   "Who?"  
   She rolled her eyes heavenward, and left them there long enough to make her point.  
   "That looks so weird, without an iris or pupil."  
   Something prompted her to say "You will see both soon enough. Do not look forward to it."  
   She felt the faintest tremor beneath her, and knew that he understood. Esther visibly bristled, though she was not sure what threat the little dragoness posed.  
   "Do not worry, I shall erase your memory if it is terribly unpleasant."  
   "You can do that?" both siblings asked at once.  
   "Should the need arise, yes. If you like, I will obtain consent first." She was no angel. She would consult him before erasing a memory he may have wanted to retain.  
   His sense of humor rebounded admirably. "Have you ever flashy thinged me?"  
   She could not lie. "We have, yes."  
   He plucked her from around his neck and held her at eye level. "Why?!"  
   She closed her eyes. The disappointment was too much to bear. "Ogres, trolls, and the like were deemed harmful to your carefree persona." Her eyes opened again, so he would know the veracity of her next words.  
   "I am my own person now, for the most part. If you do not wish me to erase a memory, I give you my word that I will honor your wishes." If Gabriel took over her body to do it for her, she could not stop him, but that would be on the archangel's head.  
   "For the most part?" Esther didn't sound happy.  
   Angel sighed. "A dragon may be possessed by an angel without exploding... I think. Plus there are... restrictions on what I can and cannot do."  
   "How can I trust you?" Avi's eyes were not the only ones to fill with tears.  
   "I am but an instrument. If you cannot trust me, trust the One who wields me." Her head dangled limply, tears dotting the carpet.  
   "It's a test of faith, then?" Esther seemed more intrigued than upset, but it hadn't been her memories that were erased.  
   "Well, we'll have to test it later. We've been away too long already." Avi tucked her under his arm like a football and strode to the car. He wisely allowed Esther to drive.  
   The drive to the family cabin was quiet. He would not let her wrap around his neck in the car, so she was coiled into a tight little ball of misery on his lap.  
   Once in the arms of his family, he seemed to forget she was there. He smiled more than she'd ever seen him smile, and that was saying something! He chatted and joked with relatives she'd never seen. If they'd been able to see her, she would have been so anxious that her stomach would have been in more knots than it already was.  
   Despite their argument, she was proud of how well he handled having an unfamiliar weight clinging to the back of his head, or around his shoulders. He resisted telling anyone that he had his dragon at last, which was just as well. After all, what gift could possibly compare to a dragon?  
   While he visited, she took the opportunity to learn her new body's capabilities. When there were enthusiastic hugs (and there were many), she perched on the back of his neck, tiny claws sunk into his hair for balance. She took care to align the backs of her talons with his skin, the sharp edges tucked safely into the hair in her fists.  
   It was getting easier to think of herself as a dragon, with draconic terminology: talons, instead of fingers; haunches, instead of hips or buttocks; muzzle vs nose and mouth.  
   The last was buried unashamedly in his hair, in the interest of making herself as small as possible. Her tail was again around his neck, but she prayed it was assumed to be his Adam's apple, collarbone, or a muscle. She even threaded it around and through his necklace for further misdirection.  
   When no one was nearby, she would stretch. Her head rolled around, wings mantled over his head, talons flexed. The first time she did this, Esther hustled over and hissed "You're positive no one can see you?"  
   She nodded mutely. She dare not speak, for fear of calling attention to herself.  
   "Honestly, I wish I could take a picture. That looked _really_ cool!" Louder, she said "Oh, hi Mom!"  
   Angel tucked herself against Avi's skull, resolving to work on her senses. No self-respecting dragon would miss someone coming up behind her! She silently thanked Esther for giving her the heads up.  
   She closed her eyes, focusing on her other senses. She'd heard tales of dragons being able to detect even invisible people, so she'd test that myth. She pictured the room around her, or what she had seen of it.  
   At first, the image was a flat remembrance. She settled more firmly against his skin, sent _all_ of her senses into that image, one at a time.  
   Sound added depth to the picture, though parts of this layer moved as the bodies within it did. Touch was surprisingly useful, yielding a sort of tremor sense through her 5'10" conductor. His height also made her frills and spines more effective. They seemed to sense vibrations and disturbances in the air. Smell did little except tell her who was where, what they ate, and their general health. It was useful information, just not at the moment.  
   Angel watched everyone, getting used to the unusual way of observing the world. Until, that is, her stomach growled. Audibly.


	2. How to Feed Your Dragon in Public

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a room full of Kaplans, how will they manage?

Avi's mother laughed. "All right, I can take a hint. Come on, there's plenty of food."  
   Esther visibly relaxed, though she shot them a glare behind her mom's back.  
   "Feed her, before everybody hears that!" she whispered.  
   Angel tilted her head so her muzzle was beside his ear. In a quick, low voice, she said "One tap for yes, two taps for no. No taps means I don't know what it is, but I'll try it. Nod if you understand."  
   He nodded imperceptibly, knowing she would feel it.  
   They wandered along a sideboard of finger foods laid out before the family dinner later. Some of it was unfamiliar, but she'd been a foodie in her... human life, so she was able to identify much of it by smell alone.  
   The three of them sat on a comfortable sofa in the living room. She carefully minced down his torso, making sure to disturb the fabric as little as possible. She squeezed between Avi and Esther's legs.  
   Esther shook her head minutely. Angel threw her paws up in a classic "what?" gesture. She said something to a relative about her brother, patting his knee while glancing at Angel.  
   The little dragoness shook her head vehemently, but Avi shifted his plate to his knees to make room.  
   Angel rolled her eyes, mortified. Her cheeks glowed faintly in a draconic "blush". She walked stiffly up his leg to sit rigidly on his thigh.  
   "I do not like this, Sam I am," she growled under her breath.  
   The siblings laughed, which wasn't particularly noteworthy at a family gathering. Her frills flattened against her neck, a gesture any cat owner would recognize.  
   Unperturbed, Avi reached for something on the plate. His hand hovered long enough that she finally understood his plan. She snatched a sweet behind his palm, where no one would notice its disappearance. She stuffed it in her mouth with such enthusiasm that Esther struggled to hide another snicker. Angel's newly tested Dragon Senses detected it nonetheless.  
   Angel and Avi worked their way around the plate, turning it so she could reach the things she'd requested. She hadn't realized it before now, but he'd placed all of her food around the rim of the plate. _Clever boy!_  
   The irony of a raptorial creature calling a human clever was not lost on her.  
   After they ate, they sat for a while, chatting with people when they stopped by. As time went on, she grew increasingly uncomfortable. She shifted, stretched, squirmed, to no avail.  
   Finally, Esther nudged her little brother. "I think she's got to use the restroom."  
  _Of course!_ She'd been dead, or in an egg, for so long that she'd forgotten about waste elimination! She nodded vigorously.  
   He wound his way through the assembled Kaplans to the bathroom, which was blessedly unoccupied. As soon as the door closed, she dove for the toilet, wings outstretched in her very first flight--well, more of a glide. If she hadn't had to defecate so badly, she might have preened at her perfect landing.  
   She kept her back to him while she did her business, vowing to come up with a less embarrassing way to go about it, later.  
   If you've ever seen a cat or dog use the toilet, you know how absurd it looks. Now imagine a dragon doing it. Avi had trouble keeping a straight face.  
   She hopped to the counter, with only a minor skid on the slick surface. She washed her paws, though after some debate she'd decided against toilet paper. Her forelegs did not reach, and besides, other animals managed without it. She had, however, touched the handle to flush, which merited a wash.  
   She waited for him to pick her up, but apparently he needed to use the facilities as well. She averted her face, studying a cozy wall hanging instead.  
   He washed his hands, and before she could climb up his arm, something warm and wet swiped across her backside. She yelped in surprise, glaring up at him.  
   Under cover of running water, he informed her that she was not riding on his shoulders until he was sure her butt was clean. There was a suspicious twinkle in his eye.  
   With ill grace, she stuck her rear in the air and lifted her tail. She vowed to find a way to use toilet paper. Somehow...  
   He was mercifully brief, even though he insisted on drying everything. A wet shoulder would raise questions, so she couldn't argue the point.  
   When she was clean and dry, though, he had the temerity to slap her rump like she was a horse!  
   She growled at him until he stopped grinning. Only then did she climb onto his shoulders.

   There was much merriment and food, as one expected. Dinner was simpler to manage, with the table blocking her from view. Choice morsels were "dropped", right into her waiting maw. Esther, bless her soul, even managed to smuggle an entire brownie off her plate!  
   She was hesitant to pop it in her mouth, as her brother occasionally did, so Angel plucked it from her hand with a nod of thanks.  
   It was a novelty to Angel. Few people had fed her from their fingertips when she was human, and never while she sat in their lap. She ignored the purely female reaction to that thought, because she doubted a hungry dragoness would think overmuch about where she sat.  
   The only strange thing about the meal was that during Grace, her scales tingled. It felt like sitting in an old muscle car while it idled in that rumbly way they had.  
_I wonder if it's to do with my old job,_ she mused. Well, in a way it still _was_  her job...  
   The rest of the evening passed as holiday gatherings often do. Despite the gaiety around her, she was having trouble staying awake. Her mind was old, but her body was newly made, and it needed rest.  
   "You look about ready to fall over," Avi murmured. She yawned hugely in reply.  
   Esther helpfully tracked down a couple of blankets. Avi stretched out on one couch with a blanket, and she took the one perpendicular to it. Angel curled up on top of the blanket, to avoid a suspicious mound on his chest. The siblings lay with their heads on the closest ends of their respective couches, talking about memories and relatives she did not share.  
   Angel was almost asleep when an orange cat jumped up on the couch. It seemed startled to see her; as startled, perhaps, as she was to discover that it could see her. Apparently, Avi was  _his_ sleeping buddy, however. He refused to budge.  
   Never one to rock the boat, she tucked herself into the crook of his arm, her back wedged against the cushions behind her. Whether the tabby would've shared the space or not was irrelevant. He wouldn't breathe well with  _two_ cat-sized weights on his chest, no matter  _how_ light dragon bones are!  
   "You're popular tonight," Esther remarked dryly.  
   "He's always popular," Angel murmured.


	3. How to Bathe Your Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel gets covered in food, and learns something about herself; not necessarily at the same time.

In the morning, there was a large breakfast, cooked by their grandmother. She knew this was his favorite holiday tradition, and the food certainly lived up to expectations! She ate whatever was dropped her way, but she refused to lick the spills from his clothes. If he hadn't tried feeding her semi-solid foods, his clothes wouldn't have looked like a toddler just learning to eat. Esther had a hard time keeping a straight face.  
   His mother tsked at him when she saw the state of his clothes. "No matter how old, or famous, boys will be boys. Get those off and wash up before we open presents. I'll throw them in the washer for you."  
   Esther was giggling now, and Angel clamped a paw over her muzzle. _I wish I could still put up Silence Bubbles_ , she thought, eyes watering.  
    _:And why can you not?:_  
   The urge to laugh left. _:I thought that was an angel thing.:_  
 _:So is your innate talent for invisibility,:_ Gabriel pointed out. _:Consider yourself a... What did you call it? Divine caster?:_  
 _:Huh... So I pray, and He grants the ability, provided 'tis His will, of course..?:_  
 _:Precisely.:_  
   She remembered the tingly sensation during Grace, both at dinner and breakfast. _:Will that always happen when people pray?:_  
 _:You are a creature of God. You will Feel when connections are made. It is in your bones.:_  
 _:Oh, is_ that _what that was?! I'm not sure I'd have agreed to that kind of pain--:_  
 _:No, Little One. You will learn what that pain was for, soon enough.:_  
 _:Again with the soon...:_ She tried to cover the lump of dread that had landed next to the food in her stomach, but her friend knew her. A gentle glow of reassurance settled over her, though it did not last forever.  
   What could possibly be worth a pain that still plagued her, from time to time?!  
   So absorbed in her thoughts was she, the sound of the shower startled her out of proportion. She shot to her feet, scratching his shirt in the process. Her wings flared so abruptly that the tiny claw on the "wrist" joint snagged his beanie and knocked it to the floor.  
   This, of course, amused Avi.  
    _You wouldn't laugh if you knew what I was thinking about..._ But she did not say what she thought. Instead, she said "I do not see why you require a shower. It all landed on your clothes."  
   He tugged at the hem of his shirt, and she grudgingly hopped to the counter, avoiding the mirror. He took off his shirt, pants, and presumably whatever undergarment he chose, but she paid them little heed. The clothes were plunked next to her one by one. She held her breath, lest the scent of Man overwhelm her silly brain.  
   She was prepared to wait right there on the bathroom counter, but he had other ideas. A squeak was all she could manage when he plucked her from her spot and stepped in the shower. She shut her middle eyelids to block certain parts of him from her view.  
   "My clothes caught some of the food. _You_ caught the rest." There was a definite note of mirth that irked her.  
   "The sink would have sufficed. You needn't disrobe every time I need a bath."  
   He laughed. "True, but I didn't take a shower last night."  
   She was beginning to understand why Gabriel disliked it so much when she used logic on him.  
   She submitted to the bath with less good humor than she had the day before. It was slow torture, because he took the opportunity to explore every nook and cranny.  
   If you got a dragon for Christmas, wouldn't you want to know everything about it? Avi was no different. He started with her head, which was the part he was most familiar with. He wondered what they were supposed to do about her teeth. Did he brush them? Did she? Or did she need dental chews, like dogs and cats use..?  
   Despite her reservations, she leaned into his soapy hand. It felt nice to be touched by another person again. He made sure to lather every frill, spine, and horn, though she shook her head vigorously when he went too far.  
   "That was my ear," she grouched. She stuck a claw in the over-sudsed orifice to try to remove the soap. He dunked her head under the spray, which made her irritable, but she knew he was just trying to help. She tilted to and fro to rinse the maligned earflap.  
   "Okay, it's a learning process. I'll try not to do that again." He soaped his hand and stroked her back in an attempt to soothe her, over the knobbly bumps of her vertebrae.  
   He wasn't sure about her wings, but eventually decided to wash them, in case food residue could alter their delicate calibration. The legs were easy enough to clean. He could see the claws and avoid their sharp points. Her tail was another matter. He hadn't realized that the spiky bumps along her spine sharpened into tiny porcupine-like quills at the base of her tail.  
   "Ah!" he hissed, sucking his thumb. Her claw twitched in sympathy.  
   She glanced up in alarm, but upon seeing nothing more serious than a scratch, she lay her head back down.  
   "Try not to rub those the wrong way, I guess."  
   "You could've warned me!"  
   She hastily erected a Bubble of Silence, making sure not to include the shower spray; for total silence would be more suspicious than yelping.  
   "If I'd known, rest assured I would have. Just hatched, remember?"  
   He couldn't argue the point. He could, and did, flip her onto her back as easily as turning a page.  
   She could not object, but she did cross her hind legs as best she could. Modesty was a hard habit to kick.  
   He soaped her keel, under her forelegs, and counted four more bumps under her ribcage. He scrubbed the inside of her hind legs one at a time, because she kept part of her lower belly covered at all times. She refused to let him anywhere near it, so he washed her butt and the underside of her tail.  
   Blushing a faint pink, he handed her the soap. He was smart enough to figure out what part of the body no sentient creature would allow another to touch.  
   She could not reach with her front paws, but she already knew her hind legs could sort of bend the correct way.  
   "I feel like a cricket," she said grumpily.  
   Looking anywhere but down, he chuckled tightly. "Crickets make music."  
   She seemed to have an endless supply of sighs. "Sadly, I do not."  
   "You used to."  
   She'd forgotten that he'd heard her sing.  
   "How do you know you can't sing? You haven't tried." He would certainly know; they hadn't been more than a few feet from each other since she hatched.  
   "I need to rinse," she said, glowing under her cheekbones.  
   He thrust her under the water again without looking. She had to shield her face with her wings, but that was preferable to him possibly glimpsing her vent, or cloaca, or whatever it was called.  
   When she was clean, he didn't seem to know what to do with her. It would have been funny, if he weren't naked.  
   She took matters into her own paws. She snatched the soap from his hand, turned over, and hopped onto his shoulder. She neither fell nor scratched him, which was a minor miracle. She dropped carefully onto her belly and lathered his shoulder blades.  
  Then she gave her wings an experimental flap, found them dry enough to hold her aloft. She slathered all four paws with obscene amounts of soap, thrust it back at him before turning and fanning her wings out. She let herself slide down, over his shoulders, and began flapping. She wasn't strong enough to fly yet, but she could slow her descent to the floor.  
   While her wings would hold, she scrubbed his back with all four paws in a cartoonish frenzy. Down she went, bit by bit, until she reached the shallow dip of his lumbar. There her job ended. He could wash his own backside!  
   She tucked her legs in and parachuted to the floor. She rinsed her paws in the water at his feet, and promptly turned her back on him.  
   It did not escape her notice when the water at their feet turned bracingly chilly. Though she knew that his forehead rested on the wall for a time, and she "saw" him turn around, she refused to "look" at anything in particular. She let her Dragon Sense skip over everything from navel to knee. There were certain things she was better off not knowing, and she already knew too much.  
  A subdued pair left the bathroom. She'd dried herself as best she could with a hand towel, not looking behind her. He dried the parts she couldn't reach with either set of legs.  
   Neither spoke until the presents were opened.


	4. Fun and Embarrassment at the Kaplans'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avi and Angel spend time under the watchful eyes of his family.

The Kaplans on Christmas morning were adorable, heartwarming, and bassically everything you would expect them to be. Each gift was carefully thought out, and people were often overjoyed. It was everything she remembered holidays to be, before her beloved Gran passed.  
   It didn't matter if it was clothing, framed photographs, or some new piece of gadgetry. People were smiling, hugging, and throwing wrapping paper.  
   It was bittersweet for Angel. She still remembered her own family's Christmases, and their silly traditions. Nobody kept them alive after Gran passed, but she remembered.  
   After the presents were exchanged, there was more food. Avi was as happy and carefree as a boy, and she adored it. He seemed none the worse for wear, for which she was grateful. The less he remembered her human body, the better it would be for both of them.  
   The next day, some of the extended relatives reluctantly went home. There were many tearful goodbyes. She was moved almost to tears, herself. There was love here, and you could feel it.  
   The “kids”, though full-grown, stayed with their parents. She lost track of how long they were there.  
   Showers became easier. They got into a routine, based on their first. He washed most of her, she washed her naughty bits, then she washed his back. She would have offered to wash his hair, but she was afraid she would slip off his shoulders. Her claws were not to be taken lightly. Every day she grew larger, though her weight about his shoulders did not seem to bother him.  
   One day, while their parents were at the store, she felt brave enough to ask if she could once more help with his hair.  
   “You make it seem like a big deal, but it's really not,” he chided gently.  
   “It's not that,” she said, ducking her head shyly from her seat in his lap. “I just want to  _do_ something, you know? All I do lately is lie around and… grow! I mean, all this rest is nice, but I'm getting restless… and pudgy.”  
   Avi poked her pot belly playfully. “All kids have baby fat.”  
   “Yeah, well I'm not a kid! Okay, I look like a kid, but… I need a job. I've got to have something to do, or I get…”  
   His face tensed. “Bored? Are you bored, Angel?”  
   She stretched to her full height (which still wasn’t much) and cupped his face with her tiny paws.  
   “I'm not bored. I just feel like I should be _doing_ something! I am a dragon of action, not of leisure. I wasn't built for it.”  
   He stroked her neck, alongside the frill. “And you were built for brushing my hair?” A grin played about his lips.  
   She patted his face. “It would build muscle, at the very least.”  
   He eyed her paws. “As tiny as your claws are, you could probably comb it out without a brush.”  
   She laughed, dropping to her haunches. “Yeah, but I bet they're also good for making the smallest braids imaginable!”  
   He shook his head, grinning down at her. “You and your braids…”  
   She stuck her tongue out at him. “Yes, I happen to love braids. Tell him how cool braids are, Esther!”  
   Avi's head swung around, looking for his sister. She stuck her head out from around a corner, abashed at being caught.  
   “Sorry, I heard you guys talking and I didn't want to interrupt.”  
   Angel didn't believe her, but she wasn't going to let on that she could hear her heartbeat.  
   “Correct me if I'm wrong, but… You don't sound like a newborn. In fact, sometimes you sound older than me. And just now, you said you weren't a kid…”  
   Angel and Avi locked eyes, silently pondering how much to tell her. She could not lie, and he knew it.  
   “Plus, you knew us when you hatched.”  
   “I could hear through my shell,” she said quickly. It was true, right before she hatched, she had heard them.  
   “You heard us talking about Wyatt? And Vetements?” Esther was clearly skeptical. She asked the questions that had been on her mind since the day Angel hatched. “You make references to pop culture, movies, and TV shows. We never put your egg close enough to the TV, and besides, we don't watch some of the things you talk about!” She was becoming agitated, and loud enough to draw the attention of their brother, if she wasn't careful.  
   Avi shushed her, looking around for the boys. They didn't seem to have heard her, yet. Angel put up a Bubble, Watching for the other Kaplan brother and Darien.  
   “I think we have to tell her, Angel. She won't quit until she knows the truth.”  
   He was, unfortunately, correct. But Angel did not believe she needed to know the whole truth. If anyone had gotten used to telling half-truths, it was her.  
   “Yes, I was human. When we met, I was an astral projection.” She'd been attached to an angel, but Esther didn't need to know that. “You couldn't see me. No one could, except him.”  
   Esther didn't look convinced. “Why could he see you?”  
   Angel beckoned her closer. She was loathe to do so, but Avi guessed where this was going and picked Angel up. He held her at Esther's shoulder height, and she in turn held her wrists out.  
   Confused, Esther glanced at the tiny paws and didn't see what they were showing her.  
   “Look closely. I am much smaller than I once was, and so are they.” She lifted her wrists higher for inspection.  
   Esther reluctantly looked again, and gasped. She held the tiny arms up to the light to confirm what she saw.  
   At length, she released the dragoness. “You were a pentaholic.”  
   Angel was lowered to his lap once more.  
   “More than that, I was a Kaplanite, or Kapstan. I drew your brother, dozens of times. Sometimes I drew him as a dragon, sometimes I drew him with a dragon. “ She laughed, mostly at herself. “Once I drew him as Thor. Is it any wonder that when I went into a coma, I would visit him?”  
   Esther's eyes were suspiciously damp. Still, she soldiered on. “How did you become a dragon, though?”  
   Angel was prepared for the question. “I died, and was reborn.”  
   She took the news remarkably well. “Well, that proves reincarnation, doesn't it?”  
   Angel didn't like leaving her with that impression. “For a select few, perhaps. I can only speak for myself. Think about it. If reincarnation were commonplace, ghosts might not exist.”  
   Esther wondered aloud what qualified a person for reincarnation. Angel could only shrug.  
   “Well, if you used to be human, and he knew it, I guess that explains Christmas morning.”  
   Neither dragon nor human understood what she was talking about.  
   “Oh, come on! I saw you two come out of the bathroom!”  
   Avi paled, and even Angel turned a fainter shade of green. Without forethought, his eyes dropped to where she lay, and hers shot up his torso.  
   Angel could not lie. She shrugged, not very convincingly. “It was a shower. It was bound to be… awkward.”  
   Esther glanced at her brother, who was surveying the view outside the window.  
   “I take it you two didn't take turns.”  
   Human and dragon shifted uncomfortably. ‘Twas the dragoness who spoke, reluctantly. “There are places that I cannot reach.”  
   Understanding lit her face a lovely shade of pink.  
   Everyone avoided eye contact, trying to ignore the image that sprang immediately to mind. The pair on the couch were studiously trying to forget her human self. At least Esther didn't know what Angel had looked like.  
   If he thought she couldn't tell that he failed, he was wrong. If she thought her anatomical advantage hid her own failure, she was wrong. Every time she balked at baths, sitting on his lap, or seeing him unclothed, it reminded them both of what she had been.  
   After a seemingly interminable amount of time, Angel happily dispelled the Bubble of Silence. The other Kaplan brother was coming to their rescue.


	5. Angel's Secret Identity

Angel knew it was no use hoping Esther would leave the matter alone. The car ride home was saved from disaster by “Can't Sleep Love” coming on the radio, but when they got home, she pulled Kevin aside. Angel knew what she was doing. She was telling Kevin to keep an eye on them.  
   Avi saw none of this, having made a beeline for the bathroom. Fortunately, he had Dragon Sense on his side.  
   “You know she's telling Kevin, right?”  
   He shrugged. “She's my sister. She's just looking out for me.”  
   She snorted. “I've been a big sister, and I'm not sure this qualifies.”  
   “I know.” He turned the water off.  
   “And you're okay with it?”  
   He grasped one of her front paws, flipped it pad up. “I mean I know that you were a big sister.” He traced the bass clef that adorned her wrist, though it was still difficult to see on her iridescent scales and fox-sized body.  
   “There was only one person with these exact tattoos, anywhere. You were easy to find on Facebook. Turns out there's an entire page for them.”  
   She snatched her paw away, angry for no reason she could name. “Funny, I don't recall you ever commenting on anything--tattoos included--or even throwing me a ‘like’.”  
   He plucked her bodily from the countertop and shook her. “Of course not! If I had, would you have volunteered to be a Vessel?!”  
   She cast a hasty Bubble of Silence before he said the last, most secret word. She hung her head. “You know that I would not,” she said, barely above a whisper.  
   He clutched her to his chest, and tears dripped onto her head. He kissed her forehead, hard, and she fought against a tide of memories. Emotions clogged her throat, threatening to drown her.  
   She was saved by Esther knocking on the door. “Alright you two. I need in there, so scoot!”  
   Angel dispelled the Bubble, and Avi dried his face. He did not, however, relax his hold on her. It was like he thought by revealing his knowledge of her human self, somehow she would be taken away.  
   When his sister saw his face, and the way he held his squirming dragon, her forehead wrinkled in concern. After her bladder was empty, she sat next to him on his bed. He still hadn't released his dragoness, who had given up on trying to get free.  
   Esther lay a hand on his knee. “Care to tell me why you're smothering your poor dragon?”  
   He chuckled, sniffed once, and liberated his dragon. Contrary to his fears, she simply settled more comfortably in his lap.  
   “My dragon,” he murmured, smiling wide. He ran a finger down her spine, and she shivered.  
   “Yes, and she isn't going anywhere.”  
   His eyes misted over. They lifted to meet her concerned gaze. “You don't know that. She left once before.”  
   Angel rose up on her hind legs and put her forepaws on his chest. She glared up into his face.  
   “Yes, I left. I did it to  _become_ your dragon! I endured pain that nigh drove me mad! Do ye think He would so lightly take such a sacrifice?! ‘Twould take a grand foul-up indeed for Him to abandon such an ambitious project as this! Think, man!” She slapped his face lightly, but immediately flinched.  
  _Note to self: That hurts both of us..._  
   More calmly, she continued. “Have faith, Avriel Benjamin Kaplan. If ye have none for me, have faith in He Who Sent Me. You have earned your dragon by being yourself. Believe that.”  
   She pressed her forehead to his chin, nuzzled his neck like a puppy. She willed him to heed her words; otherwise he would cease to be the carefree bass everyone loved.  
   Including her.  
   “Remember, I cannot lie.” Her eyes slid closed, for she had run out of words.  
   “You can't?”  
   She turned her head to meet Esther's stare. “No, I can never tell a lie. There are, however, secrets I may never reveal to you.”  
   Esther leaned back on her palms. “You mean how you went from a human named--”  
   Avi clapped a hand over his sister’s mouth, eyes wide with fear. “Don’t say her name!”  
   Her brow furrowed. “Why?” she asked behind his hand.  
   “Because ‘tis forbidden. I do not know why He let me keep my tattoos--maybe so Avi would recognize me--but you must consider her my superhero secret identity.”  
   Avi let go of his sister. “I looked her up, though.”  
   “So did I.”  
   Angel’s eyes closed briefly. “No.”  
   “What?” they asked in unison.  
   “No, you cannot visit her. You must never contact her. I am dead serious.”  
   He threw up his hands. “That’s my point!”  
   She gripped his cheeks to emphasize her next words. “If  _she_ does not die, _I_ do not live! One soul cannot occupy two bodies!”  
   Esther was lost. “I know you said you died, but I couldn’t find any record of it.”  
   Avi's eyes did not leave Angel's face. “That's because it hasn't happened yet.”  
   “But it _must!_ ” she exploded, thrusting him away before she struck him for real. “If  _she_ lives, _I_ die! There are billions of humans on this Earth, and  _one_ dragon!”  
   Esther squeezed his shoulder to get his attention. “Avi, she's right. They sent you a dragon. The biggest--or she will be--most terrifying, armored, fiercest creature to ever exist! Please, don't do anything foolish.”  
   Gradually, the tension left him. He stroked the ridges of her spine the way she seemed to like best, but she would not relax until he promised.  
   “Okay, I won’t try to save her life.”  
   She plunked her chin on a wing joint. “Or?” she prompted.  
   He sighed. “I won’t try to save her, or even talk to her. Happy?”  
   She turned all the way around. “It does not make me happy, but it must be so.” Her eyes wore the same tragic expression he'd seen so often in her other face.  
   He did what he'd wanted to, every time those sad gray orbs turned his way. He held her to his heart and hummed something she didn't recognize. She was just as glad he hadn't sung “Light in the Hallway”, or “Standing By”.  
   Whatever it was, Esther must have known it, because she leaned against her brother and hummed along.  
   Kevin glanced their way as he went to his room, but did not disturb the cozy little family.  
   After a time, Esther kissed her brother’s forehead and went home to her husband.


	6. Funny Bones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys goof around, and Angel tests her new teeth.

Too weary to care that she was truly alone with him for the first time, Angel draped herself unashamedly across his torso when he lay down that night. She didn't stay there for long, however. He wasn't on a couch anymore, and men are wont to sprawl. He rolled toward the wall, retaining a light hold on her slight frame.  
   This left her with few options. She could remain pressed face to chest, she could lie on her other side in a spoon position, or she could lie on her stomach. The last had yet to be comfortable, though.  
   She tried sleeping as she was, but with the blanket over her, it became claustrophobic. She was afraid he would roll over on her wings, so the best option seemed to be to move up and share his pillow, at least for now. Perhaps they could find a pet bed later, or simply pile blankets on the floor. There was no telling how big she would grow, after all.  
   His small, warm dragoness shifted and squirmed against him until her tiny head popped out of the blanket. It rested on the pillow next to his, which made his stomach go strangely hollow. Her tail coiled loosely near his groin, but he tried not to think about it too much. Those sharp little talons were aimed his way, but he avoided thinking about that, as well. She said she could do him no harm, so he would trust her.  
   In the morning, he saw that he’d draped his arm over her, and folded his body around hers. He didn't seem have sustained any injuries.  
   She stretched and yawned, and he froze. It was morning, and he'd forgotten everything but her claws. They did indeed scratch his shirt, but if he were more awake he would have noticed that it was the backs of her claws that raked the fabric.  
   She wriggled out from under his arm, hopped over him, and padded into the bathroom. He flopped onto his back and lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling. He knew he had to get up, because they still hadn't figured out a way for her to clean herself afterward.  
   “Oh, uh, sorry. Dude, you awake?”  
   Avi laughed, knowing exactly what Kevin walked in on.  
   “I didn't know you used the toilet…”  
   “Well, what else would I use? A litterbox? In case you haven't noticed, you don't have one, not that I would deign to use one!”  
   Avi rolled out of bed, still chuckling. Kevin backed out of the bathroom, palms raised. He clapped his buddy on the back.  
   “Don't worry, she doesn't bite. Hey, I get dibs on the bathroom!” He dashed in and shut the door, grinning ear to ear. “Hey Angel, I think you just might come in handy, after all.”  
   She shook her head, grinning at his boyish antics. “Well, hurry up and do your thing before he believes I don't bite. I never know what you guys will do.”  
   He was quick to obey. He dallied at the sink, however, struck by a thought. Something about the way he washed his hands reminded him of how she cleaned herself in the shower.  
   “Hey, next time why don't you try using the toilet paper with your back leg. I'd still double check for you, but…”  
   “Exactly, ‘butt’. I'll give it a try. It's got to be less embarrassing than this! And please don't slap my rump this time. I am neither dog nor horse.”  
   They heard a strangled sound outside the door. It sounded suspiciously like laughter.  
   “Remind me to teach you sign language,” she growled.  
   He dried their respective body parts with a thoughtful expression. “Yeah, I remember reading that. Spanish too, right?”  
   She grunted assent, trying not to grind her new teeth. She did not appreciate conversation while he was toweling her backside, but the less he thought about what he was doing, the less embarrassed he would be. She was bound to be uncomfortable no matter what, but she wasn't the one who needed to be happy and carefree. She kept her mouth shut and calmly (to all outward appearances) hopped onto his shoulder.  
   She curled around his neck, angled so she wasn't lying on her stomach. Her new anatomy did not seem to support any reclining position that put weight on her abdomen.  
   People had wondered for centuries how such large, apparently massive creatures could fly. She thought it was the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet that came up with the idea that a bladder filled with lighter-than-air gas, combined with a lighter bone structure, might make it possible. If so, perhaps that was what objected to being squashed.  
   Her stomach rumbled against his neck. He giggled and ducked his head. “That tickles!”  
   “Then feed me, Seymour.”  
   They laughed, and so did Kevin, fresh from the bathroom.  
   “I was gonna ask how y'all are doing, but it sounds like you two are getting along pretty well.”  
   She wondered privately if there were a hidden meaning behind the simple sentence. If there were, she would not trouble Avi with it. Her job was to keep him healthy and happy, so she would do the worrying for both of them.  
   “Hmm, looks like this barbecue might still be--whoa! Okay, okay, I can take a hint! No need to dive for it!”  
   She settled back against his neck, properly chastised. “Sorry, but as much as you talk about barbecue, I figure you've got the good stuff.”  
   The boys laughed.  
   “I dunno, it's been in there a couple of days. I wasn't sure when y'all were getting back.”  
   Angel smiled. “You bought barbecue for when he got home. That's sweet.”  
   Kevin flushed, an adorable smile hovering about his mouth.  
   “Well, I'm sure it'll be fine. First thing in the morning, I could cheerfully eat a cow.”  
   He paled, but didn't comment. _Right,_ she thought, _that isn't so funny when a dragon says it. Duly noted._  
   The microwave dinged, and they sat at the table while Kevin fried eggs for himself. Barbecue had lost its appeal.  
   “Hey, your drool isn't toxic or anything, is it?”  
   She wiped her muzzle, embarrassed at her lapse. “No, at least not to you.”  
   He handed her a rib, which she ate with gusto. She set the clean bone next to the plate.  
   “No, not on the table. Here, I'll get another plate for the scraps.”  
   She eyed the bone speculatively. Dogs ate bones. Could she? She decided dragons probably wouldn't waste any part of the animal.  
   “What you call scraps, I call dessert.”  
   They must have seen Olaf, or some other dog, chewing on a bone. She couldn't understand why neither wanted to be in the room when the meat was gone. Kevin didn't even finish his eggs, though she politely waited for him to do so before testing her new teeth.  
   When asked, he said “Oh, I made a whole mess of eggs, in case anybody was still hungry. I didn't know…” He gestured at the small pile of bones.  
   “Nor do I. ‘Tis merely a guess, based on my observation of carnivore behavior.” When he paled, she hastened to remind him that dragons were _omnivores_. This did not seem to reassure him.  
   The boys left to get dressed, and she set about methodically demolishing the leftover leftovers. It was surprisingly easy to shatter the bones, though she supposed it shouldn't have been. She was a dragon, was she not?  
   Avi peeked once, and regretted it. She reduced the bones of a creature many times her size to nothing, with a brutal efficiency. The worst part was, she went about it with the decorum of a highborn lady at tea.  
   He ducked back into his room, pale and shaken. Then came an unbidden memory of the things she said she’d fought as an angel, and suddenly he was very,  _very_ glad her jaws were so powerful. If she could tackle beef bones as a hatchling, he doubted there would be anything she couldn't protect him from, soon!  
   He finished dressing with a lighter heart, and a song on his lips. He would walk with new confidence into the world, with her by his side! Well, on his shoulders...


	7. Dragon Sense and Sensibility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn more about life as a dragon; its limitations, and its benefits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what gifts they have received, or what personal products they have on hand. Bacon lotion is a thing, right..?

Kevin had yet to reach the same conclusion as Avi. He tiptoed around her for days, until Avi pulled him aside and explained.  
   “Well, that’s great for you, but what about the rest of us?”  
   Angel sighed over her pork bones, having heard them across the room. She’d grown big enough to sit in her own chair, which had amused the boys to no end.  
   “Do ye not think a full-grown dragon can protect six small humans?”  
   The boys started guiltily.  
   She chuckled. “You've got Dragon Sense workin’ against you. I can hear and see more than ye think!”  
   Avi sauntered over and plopped a kiss on a brow ridge. “Good! That's very comforting. It means nobody can sneak up on you.”  
   She patted his cheek. “Us, dear bass. They cannot sneak up on us.” She raised her voice. “That includes you, KO. They chose well. I happen to like all of you.” In a much quieter voice, she said “I just like you best.”  
   Avi grinned that bone-melting happy grin that made her heart skip every time. She returned to her lunch, pretending not to notice how happy she'd made her friends.  
   When she was washed up, her snout and claws no longer covered in a sauce that looked disturbingly like blood, Kevin asked if he could give her a hug.  
   She blinked, momentarily stunned. _Well,_ she thought, _if it’ll get him to look at me as a friend, instead of a monster, why not?_  
   “Sure.” She had an idea. “Hold out your arms, and please do not drop me.” She gathered herself in a catlike pre-jump posture.  
   Kevin had seen enough of cats to see where she was going with this, and braced like a football player. Avi suppressed a chuckle, though she felt it anyway.  
   Off she dove, leaving nary a mark on his shirt, despite another growth spurt which barely left her margin for error. Her wings stretched taut in a flawless glide, right into the tall man’s waiting arms.  
   Kevin cradled her as carefully as the infant she technically was, though she'd grown far larger than a human her age. An amusing thought struck her: He was afraid of dropping, of _hurting_ a creature that could kill him where he stood! It showed immense trust, and even respect. Those were two things that had been in short supply in her human life.  
   She realized, then, that Avi wasn't the only one who had been given a gift that day. She hugged Kevin as best she could, being restricted through the shoulder, fighting tears.  
   “Thank you,” they said in unison.  
   She laughed shakily. “Okay, enough mushy stuff. Let me up on your shoulder?” It was phrased as a request, out of courtesy.  
   “Wow, I keep forgetting how tall you are! Okay, bass man, don't drop me!”  
   Avi caught her one-handed.  
   “Showoff!”  
   “He's had more practice, that's all. And no, you can't play catch with me, no matter how much exercise it'd be!”  
   They were still laughing when Esther let herself in. She was not, however, alone.  
    _:Gabriel!:_  
   He was there so fast she wondered if he had anticipated the problem.  
  _:Worry not, little one. Immediate family are allowed to know about you.:_  
   She leapt for the opening. _:What about his parents? His mother is very observant.:_  
   Gabriel consulted the Host. :Parents are a risk we do not like.:  
  _:I’m not asking about anyone else’s parents right now; only his. I’ll even try to keep his brother in the dark as long as possible, but ‘tis a very close-knit family.:_  
   He brooded longer than he ever had, presumably on a heavenly conference call.  
  _:Do not be so eager to tell anyone. Consider it long and hard before you reveal yourself.:_  
   She bowed her head. _:I understand.:_  
   Time resumed. She did not greet Esther, but when she hugged her brother, she kissed Angel's shoulder. It was near enough to his jaw that it would pass unnoticed.  
   “I see how it is,” Avi grumbled under his breath.  
   Esther just laughed and kissed his forehead.  
   Angel let the conversation flow around her, making no attempt to join in. If she needed to make herself known to Darien, she would, but she was not anxious to expand her circle just yet.  
   Darien eventually had to use the restroom. When he was out of earshot, Esther looked directly at Angel.  
   “How are you doing?”  
   She shrugged. “As well as can be expected.”  
   “Have you been sleeping well?”  
   She rolled her eyes. “Yes, _mom_. A bed has more room to sprawl, and pillows--” she broke off and tucked her head under Avi’s chin. She liked it there, because his beard scratched her growing, itchy scales.  
   Shortly after she stopped speaking, Darien came out of the bathroom. Esther smiled, but it wasn't all for her husband. She was assured that her brother's Guardian would no longer need someone to watch for incoming traffic.  
   Later, over dinner, Avi asked how she'd known.  
   “I heard the sink turn off.”  
   “Even though you were talking?” Kevin asked.  
   “Dragon Sense. ‘Tis nowhere near perfect, not yet, but it improves every day.”  
   “But what is Dragon Sense?”  
   She tried to think of an answer that would satisfy her Bonded human, without contradicting her programming for secrecy.  
   “It is the use of more than one sense to perceive the world around me.” There. She didn't say all of her senses, so they could interpret that however they wished.  
   “Like Daredevil?” _Trust Avi to make a comic book reference,_ she thought.  
   “Very sharp,” she said approvingly.  
   “Sharp, haha, I see what you did there.”  
   She chuckled. It hadn't been intentional, but at least he wasn't thinking about the reasons for her imposed secrecy.  
   If they were captured, and he told them (under duress) that she could “see” with her ears, their captors would not know to bind every spine and frill to her body. They would plug her ears, and think her blind. Her milky white orbs could easily be mistaken for ordinary blindness; especially if she closed the middle lids.  
   She was guessing that the purpose of those eyelids was probably for underwater or high altitude vision.  
   “Does it work underwater?” he asked, unconsciously echoing her thoughts.  
   “Dunno yet.”  
   He grinned, in that infectious manner she loved. “I guess we'll have to go swimming and find out.”  
   “I guess so,” she said with a smile.  
   She was scratching her elbow on the table without noticing. Avi asked what was wrong.  
   “Well,” she said, trying not to whine, “my scales are growing so fast, they _itch!_ I don't suppose you have any lotion..?” Despite her efforts, she sounded like a whimpering puppy.  
   “Umm…?” He'd finished his dinner, so he went into the bathroom to check. She trotted hopefully after him. Unfortunately, all he could dig up was some bacon scented stuff a fan had given him.  
   “I  _so_ don't care right now, as long as it works!”  
   Avi laughed, but she was serious. She head butted the hand holding the lotion imperiously, in her best imitation of her cat. She wondered absently what had become of him, but every coherent thought fled when Avi started massaging the soothing balm on her itchy scales.  
   “You want some help?” Kevin asked from the doorway.  
   “Yeah, she’s grown so big it might take both of us. There's, ah, one spot she won't let us near, though…” He trailed off, flushing a faint pink.  
   An answering blush told them he understood.  
   With both men working lotion into her hide, she was in a state of bliss. She rolled onto whichever side they needed, lifted her chin or wings so they could reach all the nooks and crannies, and even flopped happily on her back. It felt so nice, she nearly forgot to cover her nethers!  
   She accepted a pawful of lotion for that area, turning her back on them to handle the delicate task.  
   Then, without waiting for her human, she strolled into the bedroom to sprawl across the mattress until he decided to sleep. She could “see” beyond the walls by now, and she wanted the bed all to herself for a while.  
 _It's good to be a dragon,_ she thought.


	8. The Whys and Wherefores of Becoming a Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel catches Avi stalking her social media pages.

One morning, Angel caught him brooding over something on his phone. He may have thought she wouldn't notice because she was clearing the table. They'd used plastic bowls, and she insisted on trying her paws at the task.  
   "I need the exercise. I'm a growing dragon, y'know. You don't want me growing in the wrong direction." She had puffed out her cheeks and held her forelegs wide to mimic a bigger belly. She was already self-conscious about her "kid pot belly", as Avi called it.  
   "Yeah, you really are growing fast!" Kevin said. "It seems like just last week you were small enough to hold!"  
   She'd chuckled, and replied "That's because I was!"  
   At first, he had laughed along with Kevin at her unsteady aerial efforts. But then a notification on his phone caught his attention.  
   She did not miss his distraction, but she let it pass until they were alone that night. It had been a busy day, and they were lounging on the couch.  
   "Does something distress you?"  
   He looked up from his phone. She was curled up at his side, having grown too large for his lap.  
   "Hmm?"  
   She silently prayed for patience. "I asked if something distresses you."  
   "Oh, ah, no. I'm just catching up on social media. Somebody once told me that a single 'like' would have changed her life." He smiled, but not very convincingly. At least it didn't convince his Bonded dragon. She could hear his heartbeat, smell his pheromones. He was less than happy about something.  
   "That is sweet, but you may as well know that I can tell you're lying; or simply not telling everything. Let us try this again. What is on your mind?"  
   He chewed the inside of his lip indecisively. Then, before he could change his mind, he flipped his phone so she could see what he'd been doing.  
   She prayed harder for patience.  
   "At least you're on a different Twitter account." She sighed. "Why do you torture yourself?"  
   His jaw set stubbornly. "It's not torture. No, really! I'm just trying to learn about my dragon."  
   She wasn't convinced. "Ask, and ye shall know."  
   "It's not... Okay, you said you got to know about me through interviews, and Twitter."  
   "So you're trying to do the same? You've known me for months!"  
   "Yeah, most of which had an angel--a nun, if I remember right--monitoring the conversation!"  
   Her frills flattened against her neck. He had a point, but she still didn't like him 'stalking' her social media pages.  
   "And what, precisely, can fangirling and memes tell you that my words and actions cannot?" She held onto patience with both paws.  
   He set the phone on the end table with a loud clack. "It might tell me why a person would be willing to die for me, that's what!"  
   She uncoiled and perched half on his knee, touched his arm with one paw. Compassion lit her eyes, a soft pink glow behind her eyelids.  
   "People die for causes they believe in, every day. The difference is, I knew I would come back."  
   He was puzzled, yet flattered. Honored, even. "You're saying you believe in me?"  
   She mutely raised her wrists.  
   "And you knew they'd turn you into a dragon?"  
   She shook her head.  
   "But you said--"  
   "That I would come back. The lack of a physical body did not trouble me. That body was not up to the task. As long as I was doing something _useful_ , what did solid arms or legs matter?" Her eyes sparked a bitter yellow at the last words.  
   "Becoming a dragon was an unexpected bonus. I love dragons. Used to draw them, read about them--heck, I even wrote a book with them as the main characters!"  
   He blinked down at her. "You did? Where's _that?_ "  
   She waved a paw dismissively. "In my email somewhere. You know how 'tis: if I'd been published, I wouldn't have--"  
   "Volunteered, I know. How  _did_ that happen, anyway? You never said."  
   She probed the Angelic Restrictions, to see what she was allowed to disclose.  
   "Oh, you know how it goes. G--guy shows up in your bedroom, says you've been Chosen."  
   He cupped her jaw, which filled more of his hand these days, and looked into her eyes. "And how did you know he was an angel? It could have been a trick."  
   She laughed. "Remember who introduced whom to Supernatural. First of all, I had salt lines at my doors and windows. Second, I had crosses either side of my front door _and_ bedroom door. Third, and most importantly, I kept a jar of holy water, and a silver ring, by my bed."  
   His jaw sagged. She playfully nudged it shut.  
   "They Choose very carefully."  
   "That's another thing. Why you?"  
   She jerked her head back, and consequently out of his grasp. "I'll try not to take that the way it sounded."  
   He blushed, tried to apologize.  
   "I can only tell you my guesses," she said over his apologies. "I did not ask many personal questions." She smiled at a memory he did not share. "I wanted to know what I was getting into, more than why I'd been Chosen. Once he told me who I was being sent to watch over, I had a pretty good idea.  
   "The dragon thing was, at the time, simply a common interest. So is a love of Tolkien."  
   He brightened at this. "Really?"  
   She nodded. "I've read most, if not all of his books. I've not seen all the movies, though. Too long. And Legolas was  _not_ in the Hobbit books! Sure, he might have been alive, but he was never mentioned!"  
   Avi threw up his hands. "I know, right?"  
   "Two words (and ones I can't argue with): Orlando Bloom. Legolas was the coolest character in the Lord of the Rings books, but now he's hot."  
   He was not keen on agreeing, but as a man, she did not expect him to.  
   "We also share an enjoyment of cosplay, or whatever you were wearing that armor for. No, don't be embarrassed. Like I said, I dressed up, too. Mostly spellcasters, because it gave me a chance to wear my cloak."  
   He laughed. "That's not everyday wear, no."  
   "Though I cannot sing, I appreciate music; yours in particular. You plural, though I enjoy your solo work, as well." She smirked. "I am all about that bass."  
   He tapped her forehead reprovingly. "You forget, again, that I've heard you sing."  
   "And you forget, again, that I had no lungs or throat at the time. I suspect you've heard my human voice, so you ought to know better."  
   He seemed genuinely puzzled. She sighed. "I suppose there were a lot of auditions that year."  
   He snatched up his phone. "What year?"  
   She stalked across the couch and presented her backside. It was not something she was proud of, and she wasn't about to share it; especially not with _him!_  
   She had forgotten that he knew her real name. It took a while, but he did eventually find it.  
   She appeared to be sleeping, so he plugged in his earbuds and pressed play.  
   She was not, in fact, asleep. It was simply a ruse to avoid conversation. It did not prevent her from feeling him cringe, every time the woman in the video coughed.  
   When he removed the earbuds, all she said was "I did warn you."  
   He shot a guilty look her way. "It wasn't really--"  
   "Yes, it was. Asthma, a drafty room, and an already overtaxed diaphragm. I knew I'd never get in."  
   "Wha--then why'd you do it?"  
   She paced up to him, sat at his knee, and scowled up at him. "Why did I pay money to be publicly humiliated? Because you said if we did, you'd follow us on Twitter."  
   He paled, appalled at what he had inadvertently done to her. "I'm sorry, I don't know--"  
   "I do," she said sternly. "Divine intervention. If you'd followed me..."  
   He flapped one long hand. "I know, I know, it just doesn't seem _fair!_ "  
   She lay her keel and forelegs on his knee. "I struggled with that same thought for years."  
   "Years?!" he squeaked.  
   "I knew there had to be a reason I couldn't get your attention." She lay her head on his other knee. "In the end, my patience was rewarded."  
   He fondled her head fondly. "And mine."  
   She made a small, happy sound that rumbled against his knees.  
   They sat that way for a time. He continued to peruse her social media pages, and she took a nap. As usual, only part of her brain rested. Her senses were extended beyond the house, though it was still fuzzy. She needed the practice.  
   She found it comfortable to lie with her keel elevated. It took the pressure off her abdomen. She wondered idly if she would build muscles to support it as she grew, and flew more frequently. Watching an animation of a gas-filled bladder lending flight to a theoretical dragon on TV was vastly different from having to live with it every day!  
   Suppressed amusement shook her from her trance. She sighed, absently noting that she sounded almost exactly like a special effects dragon (or dinosaur).  
   "Go on, out with it. What embarrassing secret have ye uncovered now? Or is it one of the funny edits or memes?"  
   He tweaked her frill playfully. "It's the food bed."  
   She smiled. "I remember. Something about barbecue dreams, right?"  
   "Mm hmm." He was silent for a while, but she sensed there was more he wanted to say.  
   Indeed there was, but he did not know how to broach the subject. She seemed to like him as a friend, but some of the things he read leaned a different way. In one particularly troubling exchange, she told another person that she would likely stay single forever, because no one could compete with a dream. She said she had nothing to offer, or some such nonsense.  
    _What did any of it mean?_  
   "Your digestion will surely suffer, if you do not say whatever you fear will displease me."  
   He shifted uncomfortably. At length, he scrolled back to the conversation and pulled it up.  
   She glanced at the screen reluctantly turned her way, and found that it was her own digestion that was upset. She didn't know what to say, and neither did he.  
   "A dream, huh?" he ventured to ask.  
   She expelled her breath in a huff. "A man who does not know you exist can be little else."  
   He couldn't argue with that.  
   She was distant for days. When they were busy during the day, at Disney's parade of lights, or television appearances, or various other events, he could pretend the distance was not there. She trotted faithfully by his side, keeping constant vigil.  
   The nights, however, were a different story altogether. She curled into a tight ball, as far as she could manage without being overtly rude, and nothing soothed her. She no longer slept facing him, and it hurt.  
   One night, when she thought him asleep, he heard a pitiful whimper that broke his heart.  
   His dragon, his Bonded, was crying.


	9. Dragon Taming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avi soothes his dragon as best he can.

Avi lay still, unsure what to do. Would she turn on him, teeth bared, if he let on that he was awake? How many nights had she cried herself to sleep, without his knowledge?  
   The answer was, most of them. She'd been able to contain them before, but after he saw those tweets, the tears had flowed more freely. It became harder to hide the shudders and sniffles.  
   His heart was too big to allow her to suffer alone. He rolled off his back and pulled her resisting form into a bear hug. She'd grown as big as Olaf, so he wasn't as worried about hurting her. She was not alone anymore, and he refused to let her forget that fact.  
   He pressed his lips between her shoulders, to one side of the double frill down her neck. He said nothing, simply let her cry it out.  
   His mouth on her hide was far from comforting. His warm breath bathed her neck, serving as a reminder of what could never be. As big as she was now, her head barely had room next to his on the pillow. The angle she had to keep her head at, to avoid spearing him with her horns, often resulted in a sore neck in the morning. Her tail was wedged somewhere she'd rather not think about. One more growth spurt, and they would be spooning for real.  
   All of these things made it difficult to remember her place. During the day, she could trot at his side like a dog, but at night she had nowhere else to sleep but his bed. He'd tossed and turned when she'd tried sleeping on the floor.  
   So here she lay, with his body pressed tightly to hers. His lips, which sought only to console, ignited that hidden fire once more. Worse yet, she feared it might do the same to him.  
   The tears slowed to a stop, by sheer force of will alone. She remembered what happened the last time he'd held her sobbing body to his. Perhaps if she feigned sleep, they could avoid folly.  
   His hold relaxed, in proportion to the lessening of her tears. He rubbed his face along her neck, like a cat marking its human. The beard scratched pleasantly at the constant itch of scale growth, and she could not help but lean into it. With her horns pointing toward the ceiling, he was out of harm's way. A contented rumble left her throat, now pressed to the pillow.  
   Avi turned to grab the large bottle of baby oil (which had earned the boys a few curious looks from the cashier) off the bedside table, without being asked. Strong fingers worked the soothing balm into her tense, dry neck.  
   “Anything else itchy?” he asked solicitously.  
   She ignored the salacious reply that sprang to mind and shrugged.  
   He was already awake, so he sat up and set to work oiling her growing hide. It took longer without help, but he found it meditative. She had a unique, spicy sweet scent that he could not place, so he labeled it “dragon” in his mind. Her scales took on a sheen in the moonlight that filtered through the blinds. He took great pride in his work. His dragon glowed with health, and it made him happy. The better she looked on the outside, the easier it was to forget the hurts on the inside, though they still bothered him. Was she not happy living with him? What else could he do?  
   She had not counted on the fragile nature of the male ego. So wrapped in her own pain was she, that she could not see beyond her own muzzle.  
   She had to admit that it was nice to have oil massaged into her hide with those lean, firm hands. As with him, it drove her troubles into temporary hiding. It took great effort not to arch into each stroke. She could not contain the grateful groans that accompanied his ministrations, but they seemed to make him happy.  
   She did not know wings could ache, until he worked the kinks out of them with gentle fingers. Her tail hung limply as he worked his way down it, vertebra by vertebra.  
   He treated her legs likewise, and she began to drift toward sleep. Her keel, ribs, and childish pot belly were coated in baby oil.  
   In the dark, however, he could not see the place he was not allowed. She was well on her way to sleep when his fingers fanned over that most secret spot.  
   She rolled abruptly onto her belly, uncomfortable though it was.  
   He oiled the side she'd been lying on, apparently unaware what had transpired. When he was done, he set the baby oil on the table and stretched out beside her. He pulled the blankets over them, his arm draped over her midsection. Then he kissed her muzzle goodnight.  
   She waited for him to fall asleep before turning back onto her side. When she had, he snorted in his sleep and threw his leg over her haunches.  
  _What am I, a body pillow?_ she grumbled to herself.  
   It was quite some time before she fell asleep.


	10. Breakfast at Avi's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys wrestle, and Angel tries to cook breakfast.

Avi woke slowly. He drifted in a warm, comfortable place that smelled of exotic spices. Beneath his ear, a steady heartbeat marked time.  
   Voices pulled him toward the waking world.  
   “I do not care how this looks. It is a physical impossibility. When he wakes, I will show you the barbs on my tail, if it will ease your mind.”  
   He yawned, stretched his arms and legs around his dragon. _His dragon!_ He hugged her impulsively and kissed the scales beneath his cheek.  
   As it turned out, those scales covered her neck. This did nothing to erase the concern on his roommate's face.  
   “All right, enough hugging. I need to pee, and you need to talk to Kevin."  
   He did not immediately respond, but she'd grown big enough to roll out of his grasp. She leapt over him and trotted into the bathroom.  
   Kevin watched her go, frowning thoughtfully. “Do we know how big she's gonna get?”  
   Avi rolled onto his stomach, turned his face toward Kevin. He crossed his arms under the pillow and yawned.  
   “I dunno, but if she's supposed to guard me, she's got to fit inside the house, right?”  
   “Or outside, in the yard. You don't know."  
   “I shall grow as large as I must, to protect you.”  
   Kevin jumped, clutched his heart. “Man, you really oughta _warn_ a body! How'd you sneak up on me?”  
   She smirked, though she still didn't know if it looked like a grin. “Practice, Zazu!”  
   He was momentarily nonplussed, until his groggy brain remembered the hapless bird from “The Lion King”. She could tell when it clicked, because he backed away from her. “No need to practice your pounce though, right?”  
   While he was watching her, Avi lunged out of bed and tackled him with a comedic roar. They fell to the ground, laughing like little boys.  
   Angel simply sat on her haunches and watched them wrestle on the floor, a fond smile tugging at her muzzle.  
   Then her stomach growled. She decided to see if she was tall enough to cook yet. It was nice being coddled, but she really needed to work off her pot belly. _Girl's gotta grow up sometime,_ she thought.  
   She cantered into the kitchen, excited to try her hand--paw--at cooking again. First, she rose into a raptorial bipedal stature, which still felt odd. Her spine no longer sat vertically; rather, it curved like an S. The thing that she had the most trouble adjusting to was her neck. The extra vertebrae meant that her shoulders could be tilted toward the floor, but her neck could point toward the ceiling. Her head sat parallel to the floor, throwing off her equilibrium further.  
   Shaking off morning disorientation, she stretched over the stove to see which burners she could reach.  
   “Okay, so I can use the front two burners,” she said to herself.  
   She got eggs and bacon from the fridge, making a mental note to request turkey bacon the next time they went to the store. She could reach the butter, but not the seasonings. Nor could she get to the frying pan.  
   The boys wandered in, chuckling good-naturedly. She set them to work.  
   “Avi, can you hand me the frying pan, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper? Yes, I remember how you like your eggs.” He plopped a loud kiss on her brow ridge before getting the things she'd asked for.  
   “Kev, can you set the table? Oh, now, don't make that face! This kitchen ain't big enough for the three of us.” She drawled the last part like an old western cowboy movie, and was rewarded with a grin.  
   Kevin retrieved plates and silverware, mercifully avoiding stepping on her tail. He seemed glad to be out of the crowded kitchen. She couldn't blame him. Her wings were fanned out at half mast, in an attempt to maintain her balance. Her tail lay braced against the floor, like a lever. There was probably a better way, but she'd only been a dragon for a couple of weeks, and she was growing faster than she could cope with.  
   She held an egg over the bowl, but before she cracked it, she had a thought. She held the egg in her paw for so long that Avi decided to help. He began cracking eggs, oblivious to her musing.  
   “How did you keep my egg a secret? Air travel alone must have been... interesting.”  
   Avi stopped cracking eggs, and Kevin laughed. The latter went to retrieve her egg, and she was bemused by what he brought her.  
   Someone must have glued it back together after she hatched, and she couldn't blame them. The artwork was stunning!  
   Tiny dragons cavorted around the large egg, against a blue and silver marbled backdrop. Sheet music wove around and between the dragons at play. She played the notes in her head, to see if it was actually a song.  
   Her eyes misted over, and two fat tears trailed down her cheeks. She knew the song, and it was quite fitting.  
   The song on her egg was “Standing By”.


	11. Breaking Fast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rough-housing at breakfast never ends well.

When she could speak, she asked who painted her egg. Her voice was unsteady. She wasn't sure how long it would be before she burst into tears.  
   Avi’s voice was equally shaky when he named the artist.  
   “I thought this looked Japanese.” She handed her egg back to Kevin, no longer trusting herself with something so fragile and precious.  
   “My feet were so tiny!” She sniffled. “That whole egg is the size of my stomach.”  
   “They grow up so fast,” Avi quipped.  
   Kevin leaned against the kitchen doorway. “Tell her the best part. How we got her to Japan.” A wide smile lit his face with suppressed mirth.  
   She wiped her eyes and looked to Avi for the answer.  
   “Oh yeah!” His face broke into that boyish grin, and his shoulders shook. “Well, we couldn't put you through baggage check, and carry-on was out because of the x-ray.”  
   “Definitely!”  
   “We, ah…” He had to pause and regain his composure. “We had the idea to strap you to somebody's belly, so they looked pregnant.”  
   She failed to see the humor. It was entirely sensible.  
   He paused for dramatic effect. “But the only women with us were Esther and Kirstie.”  
   “I see the problem. Everyone knows they're not preg-- _OH MY CASTIEL, DID YOU STRAP ME TO A GUY?!!!_ ”  
   They burst into gales of laughter that were so infectious she couldn't help but join in.  
   “If...haha...if it helps...hoo! He was sort of girly looking, with...makeup...wig--oh my gosh Kev, that _wig!_ ” Kevin slumped down the doorjamb, clutching his sides and gasping.  
   “At least tell me there are photos,” she said dryly.  
   Avi, bent double, nodded vigorously. Someone's phone was passed to her, and she was reluctantly impressed. The “pregnant lady” looked believable.  
   “Is there a ‘before’--”  
   Avi swiped across, anticipating the question.  
   “Somebody is a master makeup artist,” she said. “I can't believe he was willing to shave that beard off for you guys. What'd you have to promise him for this?” Humor was building in her gut once more.  
   Kevin burst into renewed fits, while Avi grew quiet and refused to look at her.  
   “Avi Benjamin Kaplan, what did you _do?_ ”  
   It was Kevin who choked out “A ride!”  
   “And how did this little charade get past the contract..?”  
   Avi shrugged. “Maybe because he could choose to believe it was a real egg, or a prank..? I'm not sure.”  
   She didn't know whether to laugh or scowl. Her lips and frills twitched indecisively. It must have been a hilarious sight, because both boys slumped fetal to the floor with helpless laughter.  
   She pounced on her human with all four paws extended, poking almost anything she could reach. She remembered that he was ticklish, so she paid extra attention to his sensitive ribcage.  
   The great thing about being Bonded to him was, she knew if she was being too rough.  
   Kevin filmed the tussle, on a hunch. Maybe most people would see Avi rolling around on the floor and laughing, but he suspected that the band and Esther would be able to see the whole thing. If they could, he knew they'd get a kick out of it; especially Esther.  
   An especially loud growl from her stomach announced itself while she was playfully mauling his head. "Lion Tamer" Avi easily slipped from her jaws with nary a scratch, and they resumed breakfast preparations.  
   She was still small enough that he could share the kitchen with her comfortably. He reached around her easily, and she was equally able to duck under his arm. It became a dance, of sorts. As with most first dances, there were minor bumps and hiccups, but breakfast reached the table with minimal spillage.  
   She let the boys carry the plates to the table. They were ceramic, and she wasn't confident enough yet to handle anything but plastic.  
   She faced the daily quandary of seating. At first, she had sat on his lap, or the table. As she grew, she was given her own chair. She wondered every day if the chair would hold her. She tested it before she clambered up, and every day it held firm. But for how long?  
   Avi set her plate in front of her with a quick, almost thoughtless kiss on her poll. It had become a habit for him, much as it had been when she was a Vessel. He didn't seem to think about it, but it made her secretly happy, every time.  
   “I don't know why you're afraid that chair won't hold. You're lighter than you think, and smaller than us. If it can hold Kevin, it should hold ‘til you're tall enough to sit on the floor.”  
   “Whoa, what's that supposed to mean?” Kevin asked, fork poised mid-bite.  
   Avi bro punched his arm. “You're swole, that's what it means. These chairs can hold a big, manly beatboxer. What's a bird-boned, Olaf-sized dragon compared to that?”  
   She laughed. “I know, I'm not ‘swole’ yet. But some day, I'll be taller than both of you. Bird bones or not, I've also got wings and a tail that could… I don't know, flex wrong, and… What's so funny?”  
   “They could ‘flex wrong’?” The boys flexed their biceps at each other, which deteriorated into an odd-looking elbow fight. It was so ridiculous that she could not help but laugh.  
   “Eat your food before it gets cold… brats…”  
   Avi looked at Kevin, and she knew she was in for it. “Brats, huh?”  
   When Scott texted, asking where they were, the dog pile of elbows, wings, and knees had to untangle so they could locate the phone.  
   They ended up choking down cold bacon and eggs in a mad rush. Neither man could say she didn't warn them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The cooking scene, in my head, looked like Dean and Lisa cooking together.


	12. How to (Prepare to) Ride a Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A saddle must be made, but how..?

Angel was getting restless. She didn't know why; they went places, even though seating was often... interesting. It wasn't like they kept her cooped up. Few could see her, so none of them worried overmuch about her accompanying them to promotional events.  
   The college day made her proud of her Bonded. He handled the students with a natural ease. It was a rousing success.  
   But Angel felt like she ought to be _doing_ something, other than simply growing. She continued to test her senses, but it didn't feel like enough!  
   They hadn't been attacked in weeks. She was beginning to wonder what her purpose was.  
  _Am I the big stick that scares things away, so he may walk softly? she wondered. Do I just walk around looking scary..?_  
   Avi eventually picked up on her restlessness. He tried giving her things to do; things that once soothed her. He let her take over the care of his mane, even in the shower. She was tall enough now to reach his head, with little stretching on her part.  
   She enjoyed washing his hair. He knew she did. She was happy cooking for them again. But something still seemed to be missing.  
   One day, he gathered up the courage to ask her why she was unhappy.  
   She flinched. “I'm not unhappy. I just… I don't know, I feel like I ought to be _doing_ something, only I don't know what it is.”  
   Kevin looked up from his laptop. “You haven't flown since you got too big to do it inside. You've been walking everywhere.”  
   Avi snapped his fingers. “That's _right!_ You have wings, but you're not flying! _That's_ why you feel fidgety!”  
   “Perhaps,” she allowed, “but I cannot leave you alone to stretch my wings. How do you suggest we remedy that? You have no saddle.”  
   Avi blanched. He'd forgotten that she was there to protect him. The thought of riding a dragon bareback made him slightly ill.  
   Again, it was Kevin who had the answer. “You know, we did promise Cecil a ride. Maybe he'd be able to make a saddle for you. Heck, for all we know, he might already have one designed for his flight.”  
   Angel didn't like including another person in the secret, but Kevin might have a point.  
   Avi reached the same conclusion. They called Cecil.

   “Yeah, I did a little research--at the library, ‘cause you said it was a secret. There's a couple of ways to make saddles, but I'd need to take measurements and--holy cow! It's _way_ bigger than I thought it'd be! Wow! You just grew like a weed, didn't ya?”  
   Angel scowled. “Since you cannot seem to tell, I am a dragoness. Kindly address me as such.”  
   Cecil leapt back when she spoke, clutching his heart. Eventually, her words sank in.  
   “Oh, uh, sorry ma'am. I didn't know you could understand English. I just thought… I dunno, maybe you were like a dinosaur..? I've never met a dragon before.”  
   “And with manners like that, you may never meet another!” Her frills twitched in ire.  
   Avi smoothed a hand repeatedly down her neck, trying to soothe her. He kissed her poll (which was now at shoulder height) and quietly reminded her that they needed Cecil.  
   Reluctantly, she lay down and allowed measurements to be taken. For all his bravado, it was Avi who lay the tape against her body. Cecil was more comfortable writing down the numbers, at least for now.  
   “I, ah, brought sketches of the different saddle types. I don't know about you, but I don't like this lying down model. Personally, I'd rather not have to pierce her wing, so this model is out. There's a gap in those spikes on her back that I think this kind of saddle would fit in.” He spoke quickly, nervously. The diagrams looked familiar to Angel, looking over Avi’s shoulder.  
   “These are Neon Peffer saddle designs. I agree with your assessment. That is the saddle I will wear.”  
   Cecil hesitated before saying “I'm, ah, surprised you're willing to be ridden. You know, being able to talk and all…”  
   Angel considered her words carefully. “I am here to protect humans. If I cannot fly, I cannot do my job. But I must not leave my friends for extended periods of time, else I abandon my post.” She forced a shrug. “I fail to see how else I may learn to fly, yet keep them nearby.”  
   Cecil’s chest puffed out. “Yes ma'am, understood. I'll have you a saddle in no time! Don't worry, you won't have to abandon your post.” It looked like he was fighting the urge to salute.  
   “Former soldier?” she asked.  
   “Yes, ma'am. Believe it or not, I was a pilot in the Air Force.”  
   Angel laughed. “Well, aren't we lucky? At least one of us will know how to fly!”  
   All four sentient beings laughed, though there was strain in a couple of voices.  
   “Well, while I'm making your saddle, you'll need to strengthen those wings. You might want to try hovering in the backyard with somebody on your back.”  
   Angel's eyes twinkled. “I think I know how to exercise, but thank you for the suggestion.”  
   Cecil ducked his head, grinning sheepishly. “Yes, ma'am.”  
   He left, measurements in hand. Avi stressed durability over speed. They didn't care how long it took to build, as long as they could rely on it. Angel suggested a flexible material, to allow for growth and muscle development.  
   When he was gone, Angel asked “So, who wants to ride a dragon?”


	13. Buying Tack For a Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avi and Kevin have to figure out how and where to buy saddlebags in Los Angeles.

Kevin flat-out refused to be the guinea pig. Avi didn't want to try without a saddle, despite her insistence that she would only hover a few feet off the ground. In the end, she suggested saddlebags.  
   “We might need them anyway, so why not buy them now?”  
   The only problem was, where do you buy saddlebags in LA..? If they bought it online, they would have to wait for it to ship.  
   They looked up horse tack in Los Angeles, and there were only two places that weren't stables. One was in LA, but the website didn't work. The other was over 7 miles from the city, and had no website.  
   “I'm actually impressed,” Avi said. “I didn't even know we had so many stables here!”  
   Kevin looked at their options. “I don't think we should use the one in town.”  
   “Why not?”  
   Kevin looked thoughtful. “She's supposed to be a secret. We risk being recognized in LA.”  
   Angel chuckled. “You run that risk everywhere, but your point is valid. If we used the local store, they would expect future purchases for a horse you do not own.”  
   “True.”  
   The next day, they drove to the tack shop in Monterey Park. Angel grasped the roof and held her wings aloft. Avi wasn't keen on the idea, but she insisted.  
   “I must build endurance. I cannot fly, but this will simulate flight. If I tire, I shall tap the roof twice.”  
   If she did tire, she never admitted it. She arrived intact, much to the boys’ surprise. They hadn't driven very fast, in case she fell. This amused the dragoness, who was now the size of a small horse.  
   She hopped down, with not so much as a dent or scratch on the vehicle.  
   “It is good that there are no horses here. They might not appreciate my presence,” she said wryly.  
   “And alert the owners that something’s up,” Avi added.  
   “Let us hope that the proprietor cannot see me. I must accompany you, to ensure that the correct size saddlebags are purchased.”  
   Kevin was looking at her strangely, but he said nothing. He was wondering why she spoke the way she did, but he saw no way to ask without sounding judgemental. One does not simply blurt out a personal question to a dragon.  
   Well, unless she was your dragon…  
   The proprietor either couldn't see the dragoness, or she politely ignored her to give the impression she couldn't. She took the measurements, frowning at the numbers.  
   “Is this a colt, or a pony we're fittin’?”  
   Avi answered more or less truthfully. “Filly, actually.”  
   “How old?”  
   Knowing little of horses, he again answered to the best of his knowledge. “What, about a month? Month and a half..?”  
   The woman's eyebrows shot up. “Well, if her back is this long already, she's gonna be a big girl, yeah? Draft horse stock?”  
   Angel cast a hasty Bubble of Silence around them and snickered. “If only she knew! Yes, draft horse size will work best, methinks.” She dropped the Bubble so he could reply.  
   Avi was happy to answer honestly. “We're not exactly sure. We got her sort of unexpectedly. I don't know how big she's going to be.”  
   One weathered hand cuffed his shoulder affectionately. “You're a good man, takin’ her in. Draft horses are harder to find homes for, these days. ‘Specially around here.”  
   The boys had trouble keeping straight faces. Angel belly laughed (within her Bubble), and loved the carefree feeling. She'd missed laughing like this.  
   “How many hands is she now?”  
   Before Avi could tell her that he didn't know what she was asking, Angel hastily whispered (still in her Bubble) “She means my height.”  
   He pretended to think.  
   “At my withers, not my head.”  
   He thought some more. She rolled her eyes. “Withers are shoulders, bass man.”  
   Avi raised his hand to her withers, hovering as though approximating. She dropped the Bubble, resolving yet again to teach him sign language. “About yea high, I'd say.”  
   Kevin’s mouth twitched.  
   The tack mistress suppressed a sigh. “Son, do you have any idea what you're doing?”  
   He smiled his most charming smile. “No ma'am, but I'm not in charge. I just buy the tack and do what she tells me. You know how wives can be.”  
   He'd added the last part on impulse, and was rewarded with an instant relaxing in the tack woman's posture. After that, she stopped expecting him to know things, and explained without asking.  
   His dragon, however, was not amused.


	14. Clean and Unclean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avi gets scolded, Angel gets a bath, and something tests her defenses.

Angel followed the boys through the interior of the tack shop, commenting only when necessary. She was less than happy with her Bonded.  
    _His 'wife?'_ she growled internally. _Really?! I get that it takes pressure off him, but he seems to forget who has been issuing those instructions. That cannot be helping Kevin’s impression of our… relationship. I am_ _not his wife! I know, only Kevin heard that little exchange, but he's sure to tell Esther!_  
   She fumed the whole time they were in the shop. When they were finished, and in possession of an adjustable, expandable pair of saddlebags, she climbed into the back seat with the tack. If the woman noticed the chassis straining more than it should have, she said nothing.  
   The only way for her to fit inside the car was for her head and neck to snake between the front seats. This made conversation easier, as well.  
   She waited until they were well away before saying anything. Avi must have sensed the impending discussion, because he let Kevin drive.  
   “Wife, am I?”  
   He said nothing, embarrassed and blushing.  
   “And you simply do as you're told?” She paused, but he still didn't defend his words. “I shall remember that.”  
   Kevin chuckled. “Aw man, that doesn't sound too good.”  
   Angel rumbled noncommittally. For all her protestations, she briefly enjoyed the fantasy, impossible though ‘twas. The fangirl she used to be was dancing inside. But it was a guilty pleasure. The dragoness became depressed, because she knew it could never be.  
   She was silent for the remainder of the trip.  
   The boys interpreted this as a different sort of bad sign. They began to imagine all sorts of ways she might get back at Avi. Kevin fervently hoped that he didn't get caught in the crossfire.

   When they returned home, Avi coaxed his dragon into the back yard for some practice. He was hoping to distract her from his faux pas, and she went along with it. She was too despondent to care. Flying did not require much thought. It was mainly muscle memory.  
   They rigged the bags the way they'd been shown. She stood impassively through the process, which they mistook as a good sign.  
   “Okay, boss lady, what do we use as ballast?” Kevin asked, grinning in anticipation.  
   Angel thought briefly. “Just the saddlebags for now. As you said, I haven't flown in a while. Then we shall use canned food.”  
   For some reason, this amused them. They went into the house, exclaiming over the various products she could carry. She heard random snippets like “Corn Dragon!” and “Bean bags!” She could not maintain a sad mood around them for very long.  
   She prayed for the ability to cast a “look away” field around the backyard, and attempted to cast it. There was no way to know if it worked, but she prayed that it did. Even if no one saw her, they might see the “beat boys” loading her saddlebags.  
   They returned with the canned goods, chuckling like mischievous schoolboys.  
   Angel easily hovered three feet from the ground. Her wings, when extended, took up half the backyard. When they reached her, she folded her wings and landed with a dull thud.  
   Avi saluted. “Can patrol, reporting for duty, ma'am! How many cans per side, ma'am?”  
   Angel couldn't keep a straight face. Her head dropped until her muzzle touched the grass, and she giggled helplessly.  
   When she could speak, she told them to start with one apiece, and work up from there. They insisted on putting the same kind of canned food in each side. She just shook her head and chuckled at their antics.  
   She did better than they thought she would. They insisted on progressing slowly, watching for any sign of fatigue. Despite clinging to a roof for the entire trip out to the tack shop, she made it up to five cans per side before she tired. It wasn't much of a falter, but Avi was endearingly protective of his dragon.  
   “Hey, you okay? That landing was a bit rough. We'll stop for the day.”  
   She bit back a smile, and gave as good as she got. She clacked the “wrists” of her forelegs together, tapped her eye ridge in a sort of salute. “Aye aye, sir!”  
   The sight of a (currently) four-legged creature saluting must have been hilarious. Avi was still chuckling when he removed the saddlebags.  
   She laughed when the bags came off, because he'd forgotten to unload them first. Ten cans were easy to carry across one's back, but the weight of those same cans dropping into your arms was enough to set him on his rump.  
   Kevin was laughing so much that he couldn't help his buddy. Angel, however, disliked the feeling of weights across their bellies. She nudged the saddlebags sideways, off his lap, still chuckling.  
   When he could stand, Avi dragged the heavy bags to the side of the house. Then he started unwinding the garden hose.  
   “Hey, now, it's not my fault you forgot to unload them,” Angel said, backing toward the fence. She pushed up to stand bipedal, forelegs raised in supplication.  
   Avi advanced on her, spray nozzle at the ready. Kevin stood off to the side, waiting. On a whim, Avi turned quick as a viper and hosed Kevin.  
   “Heyyy!”  
   Then, as though nothing had happened, he resumed stalking his dragon. The hose uncoiled like a cobra behind him.  
   At the last second, Angel launched in the air, over his head.  
   “Oh no you don't! You need a bath!”  
   Angel landed behind him, wrestled the nozzle into his face. He spluttered, but she'd already released her hold and stood several feet away, apparently docile.  
   “Why did you not say so?” She batted her short, stubby eyelashes at him, all innocence. “You will, of course, require soap.”  
   Kevin was in stitches, despite his shirt being wet.  
   Avi tagged him with the hose again. As usual, this devolved into a very wet and wild wrestling match, where nobody won. Angel ducked inside to grab the soap while they were occupied.  
   When they were soaking wet and tired, they collapsed on the soggy grass.  
   “Funny, the person who was supposed to get a bath is the only dry one here.”  
   The guys laughed weakly. She turned the water off until they were able to make use of it.  
   When they had sufficiently recovered from their water fight, Avi hosed down the dragoness. Dried sweat scented the water at her feet, more spicy than sweet.  
   She didn't know where the shammy came from, but it felt nice against her hide. As long as it wasn't the same one he used on the car, she didn't much care. It was soft on her growing, itchy scales.  
   Midway through her bath, however, she knocked the boys to the ground and stood over them, wings mantled.  
   “Hey! The ground is all wet,” Kevin complained.  
   “Shh!” she hissed. “Something’s coming.”


	15. Backyard Battle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reader finally gets to "see" what an Unclean creature looks like. They differ as widely as the base creature, to use D&D terms, but this is one example. If you're faint of heart, you may want to skip the description of the Unclean.

Angel mantled her wings over her boys protectively, and crouched close to the ground. She prayed the color of her scales was closer to green than purple. Her body effectively covered the muddy spot. Perhaps whatever was coming would not see her against the grass.  
   She focused on a paw, trying to change her hide to the exact color of the lawn. _It shouldn't be much different from turning invisible--aha! Camouflage!_ As long as the creature bearing down on them didn't have enhanced senses, it should pass them by.  
   She fought the urge to look up, or even open her eyes. She relied entirely on her Othersense to monitor its approach.  
    _Shards! It's changed course. Well, maybe I'll at least get a surprise round,_ she thought.  
   She waited until the unknown creature was directly overhead to attack. Quick as lightning, she surged straight up, maw open. The instant her teeth touched it, she snapped her powerful jaws around whatever body part she happened to latch onto, and held on for dear life.  
   It didn't stand a chance. Though it thrashed violently in her grip, the contortions were death throes. She'd been lucky enough to score a direct hit to the jugular.  
   Now she had a different problem: keeping the ichor from landing on her vulnerable companions!  
   She shoved them farther under her belly, intending for them to continue toward her tail and into the house. Unfortunately, they misinterpreted her actions, huddling under her straining body. She dare not loosen her grip enough to speak, lest the dying body writhe from between her teeth.  
   She folded her wings in such a way as to shield the hapless humans from the arterial spray, and hopefully shunt it away from them. She did not know what was in her maw, nor whether its blood was harmful. She would not know until it bled out, for her eyes were still shielded behind all three lids.  
   The blood slowed to a sluggish drizzle. She thrust it further from her, and the house.  
   “Get inside, and do not touch its blood!”  
   They obeyed quickly, scooting the way she'd tried to move them earlier.  
   “Check yourselves for splatter!” she called after them.  
   She opened her eyes at last to inspect the corpse. It was a twisted thing, pitiful to behold. It vaguely resembled a winged human, though it was warped beyond recognition of the individual. The limbs bent at odd angles. The face was broken and reshaped, much as her own had been, but the creator was inelegant. The “muzzle” looked like something out of an old werewolf movie. The wings were all bone and sinew. The wretched thing retained its skin color and texture, which made the inhuman creature more disturbing.  
   It was male, she knew that. His muscles had grown dangerously fast, she saw. His skin hadn't had time to cope with the extra mass and appendages. It was red, stretched painfully thin. Any clothing he'd worn was gone now, which revealed more than she wanted to know.  
   He had, very obviously, enjoyed hunting them.


	16. Mud and Drool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cleaning up after her brief battle with the Unclean

Angel severed the head of the winged humanoid and trampled the body into a bloody, unrecognizable mess. Then she spat all over its remains.  
   She meant what she told Avi. Her drool wasn't toxic to him, but it was deadly to any evil being.  
   Her salivary glands produced a substance akin to holy water.  
   Wherever it touched the remains, they bubbled and hissed.  
   More importantly, they dissolved.  
   When nothing remained of the Unclean creation but a grey stain, she rinsed her mouth with the hose that still dumped water into the hapless grass. She washed her face, paws, and neck. She turned the hose off and coiled it neatly.  
   Only then did she go to the patio door. They didn't need to see her covered in blood and gore, toxic or not.  
   Avi yanked the door open ahead of her and tugged her urgently inside. Angel knew that could only mean one thing: Kevin was wounded.  
   She bounded through the sliding door, nearly bowling over her half naked Bonded. Kevin sat on the toilet, shirtless, pale and sweaty. He was clutching his arm and rocking.  
   Angel pried his hand away, sparing no time for gentleness. She set her teeth carefully against his skin and drooled for all she was worth. Avi hovered anxiously in the doorway.  
   “What are you doing?!” Kevin asked in alarm.  
   She released his arm and licked the acid burn. Kevin gradually relaxed as the pain subsided.  
   “Oh. Magic spit. Sure, why not?”  
   She sputtered, sending drool flying across the bathroom. “Dangit! Don't make me laugh when I'm salivating!”  
   Avi laughed, reassured that his best friend would be okay. Kevin’s face reminded Angel of Will Smith in “Men in Black”. She snickered behind a forepaw.  
   “Your arm is healed,” she said helpfully.  
   Kevin looked down. Not so much as a dent marred his ebony perfection. “Oh. Um… thanks. I guess drool isn't always bad…”  
   Angel and Avi clung to each other, helpless with mirth--and relief.  
   The boys changed out of the rest of their muddy clothes, and they all had a bite to eat. As was often the case with the trio, food made almost everything better.  
   “Oh hey, we never did finish your bath,” Avi remembered. Lethargic from food and exertion, Angel shook her head. “I have removed the worst of the blood. I am too fatigued for another bath. Let us not tempt fate, hmm? If you must, use a washcloth.” The last was added on a sigh, because he evidently thought her somehow tainted. His nose wrinkled in distaste.  
   She rose with a groan and padded back into the bathroom. It was decidedly cramped now, but if it eased his mind, she would submit without argument.  
   She stepped bipedal into the tub, wings and tail held as close to her body as possible. She immediately dropped to her haunches to take up less room.  
   Avi turned on the shower, despite her protests. “I can't use a washcloth or I might get burned.”  
   “Right…” She closed the curtain, but he opened the side away from the spray.  
   “You could use another set of eyes,” he pointed out.  
   She sighed again. “Try to stay out of the splash zone, in case I missed anything.”  
   “Yes, ma'am!” he agreed.  
   She stood under the water, turning as best she could, until he was satisfied she hadn't missed a single drop of blood.  
   He turned the shower off, opened the curtain, and applied a towel to her glistening hide. She'd grown big enough to earn her own towel set, in whatever color she wanted.  
   Her towels were royal purple. It wasn't a very practical color, but it was her favorite. They were also the softest towels she'd ever owned.  
   He followed up with an all-over rub down with baby oil. His lean fingers kneaded her weary muscles expertly. By now, he knew where tension tended to gather in her young body.  
   She leaned tiredly into her Bonded human’s hands. She had already forgotten how good it felt to be pampered.  
   “Thank you,” he said as he worked the kinks out of her neck.  
   She rumbled happily. He kissed her, to one side of the double frill, then worked oil into the spot he'd kissed. He seemed almost embarrassed, which puzzled her. He dropped kisses on her head or neck several times a day.  
   She wasn't the one who’d been pressed into the wet earth by a dragoness who was now the same size as her Bonded. Avi was. He hadn't realized that she'd grown to human proportions until they were chest to chest, belly to belly. Despite the mortal peril, and his friend lying next to him, memories of her other self rose to the surface.  
   Memories he was having trouble forgetting...


	17. Sign Language Primer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bathing, a little sign language, and a lot of tension.

Avi was tense when she washed his hair that night.  
   She stood outside the shower, since they could no longer share it. Her wings and tail took up too much space. She didn't question his rigid spine. He'd glimpsed his first evil supernatural creature today; at least the first he retained memory of.  
   She massaged his scalp in an attempt to soothe any fear he might have. When his hair was clean, she took the soap from him and worked it into the skin of his back. She dug the pads of her talons into the knotted muscles.  
   Despite his traitorous thoughts, the massage felt wonderful. He rolled his shoulders into her paws, enjoying the strength behind them. He worked the kinks out of her body as often as she seemed to need it, but he'd forgotten how good it felt to receive the same.  
   Angel’s belly quivered at the sounds he made beneath her knuckles, but she resolutely pushed those thoughts away. She was here to protect and care for him, nothing more. In a way, she wished she'd been Created without troublesome hormones. Either that, or no memories of her human life.  
  _Ah, but then I wouldn't be as driven to protect him, would I?_ she thought with bittersweet logic.  
   She did not massage the muscles in his lower back. They were too close to his buttocks. She closed the curtain, dried her hands, and sat on her haunches to wait. She extended her senses out, in what she called Sentry Mode.  
   To her relief, nothing malignant approached the house.  
   It startled Avi to see her waiting outside the shower, apparently looking at him. She was usually facing away from him when he got out. He waved a hand in front of her face, shielding his body behind the shower curtain.  
   Angel's senses registered the movement, and her eyes blinked into focus.  
   “Oh, you're finished.” She turned promptly toward the door while he dried and dressed.  
   She couldn't see him? She was looking right at him! There was much he still didn't know about his dragon, it would seem.  
   He pulled his night clothes on thoughtfully. _What else don't I know?_  
   Kevin took his turn in the shower, leaving them momentarily alone. This hadn't bothered him before. Now that she was roughly the same size as him, however, it felt like being alone with another human. A woman that he knew and liked.  
   “Do you wish to retire?” she asked solicitously.  
   “Hmm? Oh, ah, no. I'm not sleepy.” The thought of occupying the same bed as the dragoness was unnerving, with his new perspective.  
   “Good,” she said. He was surprised. “I can't keep casting Bubbles of Silence. You need to learn sign language.”  
   “Oh. Yeah, I can see what you're saying. Where do we start?”  
   She grinned. At least he thought it was a grin. “At the beginning, of course. Do you know the alphabet?”  
   They spent the next hour or so facing each other, hands flying at different speeds. She ran him through the alphabet and numbers first. Then she taught him a few basic words (yes, no, fine, here, there, who, what, when, where, why) and phrases, like “I don't know” and “I love you”.  
   She corrected his form by directly manipulating his hands. If her talons were cold or reptilian, he might have been less distracted. If he'd never known her human self, he might have been able to focus better.  
   But her paws, which resembled clawed hands, were warm on his fingers. Though they'd held no warmth when she looked human, he remembered her weathered hands smoothing the worry line from his brow. He remembered the way her bronze tresses curled about her shoulders. She'd had no scent as an angel, but in his mind the two figures were becoming one: an angel that smelled like a dragon, and had her warmth.  
   His eyes saw a dragon, but his mind's eye saw a woman.  
   Angel was unaware of his thoughts, but she could tell he was distracted. Finally, she put a stop to the lesson.  
   “You have no head for signing tonight. I shall quiz you in the morning. Perhaps there is some truth to the theory that sleep aids retention. Come, you must rest.” Without thinking, she held her paw out, as one would take the hand of a child.  
   Avi placed his hand in her paw, unafraid of the wicked talons. His lack of fear pleased her.  
   She led him to the bedroom, dropped his hand, and hopped up on the bed. She lay facing the wall, leaving him to decide how near or far he wanted to be. She never pushed her presence on him, which he appreciated. She always let him approach her. Dragons are fearsome creatures, and this one knew it.  
   At least that's how he saw it.


	18. A Slight Complication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, a huge complication...

Angel lay facing the wall, wondering what the night would bring. Would he embrace her, or let her cry in peace? She had no way to make him understand why she was sad. He saw her as a dragon, which was more than she could say for herself. She struggled daily with the transition from human to dragon. When he snuggled close and put his leg over her haunches, she felt like a woman. When she walked throughout the day, she often chose to be quadrupedal, in order to force her mind into a draconic frame.  
  _How can I make him understand, when I myself do not?_  
   He slid between the sheets slowly. Whether it was reluctance to be near someone who had recently battled an Unclean monster, or a healthy respect for her tail barbs, depended on who you asked.  
   Avi wrestled with indecision. If he lay far from her, to resist temptation, she would know that something had changed. Could he wrap his arms around her, remembering what he did? It was easy to forget her human life when she was the size of a house pet. It was not so simple when his arms and legs were only slightly longer than hers.  
   In the end, he could not risk her honor. He lay gingerly next to her, facing the opposite direction. It was fortunate that they weren't touring, because he slept little.  
   A few hours later, he heard subdued sniffles. His dragon was crying again, but what could he do? Knowing what he did, could he embrace his dragoness?  
   At length, unable to bear it any longer, he reluctantly rolled over and reeled her into a tight hug. She hiccuped once, in surprise. Her body went rigid.  
   He planted his lips on her neck, more a command than a kiss. _Be still, sleep,_ they seemed to say. _I cannot rest, but one of us must._  
   Something had to give. They had reached an impasse. If they did not speak their minds, one or both would go mad.  
   Angel heaved sideways toward the wall, trying to get her feet under her. Avi threw a leg over her haunches and held her in place. She lay still a moment, shocked that he would detain her. Then, desperate to move, she lunged again. Her legs tucked in for better leverage.  
   She almost made it. She got her legs beneath her body before he tackled her. The momentum slammed the combatants into the wall. He was on her back now, which was as the last place you want to be on a dragon.  
   If, that is, she had been a full-grown, fledged dragon. Her spine was in an as yet unfamiliar configuration, and it had already endured much that day.  
   She collapsed, tears stinging her eyes.  
   Sensing her defeat, he sat up, remaining astride his dragon.  
   “I think we need to talk,” he said.  
   She whimpered, more with pain than sadness. Immediately, he got off her back and turned her on her side.  
   “What's wrong?” he asked anxiously.  
   She curled around her abdomen, cradling it like a child. Avi dove for the baby oil, as if lotion could repair internal damage of any sort.  
   He pried her forelegs away, gently massaged soothing oil into the scales of her abdomen. He was alert for any specific areas of tenderness. Was it a sprain? A strain? Surely, his lean frame could inflict no damage on even a fledgling dragon!  
   She did not react to pressure anywhere specific, but every now and then she would shudder and curl in on herself. He tested wherever he'd been working when she spasmed, but it never provoked the same reaction.  
   “What's wrong? I don't… I can't find any injuries… What do I do?” He sat on his heels, ran his hands through his hair.  
   She could only moan and clutch her belly.  
   When another spasm wracked her body, unprovoked, he had a horrible thought. He ran his hands lightly over the scaled surface, feeling for tension of a different sort.  
   There! Slowly, it built. Starting at her sides, it worked its way to the middle of her belly. She groaned and twisted, trying to get away from the pain.  
   “Oh, I'm so sorry, girl. I don't know how this happened. Come on, we have to get you up.”  
   “Nooooo,” she wailed, though he could not have said if she were speaking to him.  
   “Come on, we've got to get you in the bathroom.”  
   She did not reply. He backed off the bed, tugging her after. For once, she did not resist. At the edge of the bed, he realized that he could not carry her. She would not, or could not, walk on her own.  
   He needed help. He had to wake Kevin up.  
   He banged on his best friend's door impatiently. She was gripped by another spasm before Kevin came to the door, rumpled and confused.  
   “Man, this better be important.” He gazed blearily at his buddy, took in the frantic eyes and wild hair.  
   “Dude, I don't know how or why, but I think Angel's in labor!”


	19. A Labor of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel tries to bring new life into the world, but what will it be?

Kevin’s first instinct was to call Esther. Obviously, it hadn't occurred to Avi.  
   “Yeah, sure, but we've gotta get her in the bathroom first.”  
   “Why?”  
   “‘Cause this is gonna get messy, c’mon!”  
   Kevin lurched forward, and together they carried the dragoness into the bathroom. They managed to get her in the tub before another contraction distorted her belly.  
   “Whoa, is that what it's supposed to do..?” Kevin asked.  
   “I dunno, man. Maybe you're right. I'll call Esther.”  
   He wasn't looking forward to calling his sister in the middle of the night, but he didn't know how long this would last.  
   A groggy, sleep-rough voice eventually answered the phone. “This had better be good,” she grumbled.  
   “Hey, ah, how long… what do we need for…”  
   Kevin snatched the phone and blurted “Angel's in labor.”  
   There was dead silence for half a minute. “I'm on my way.” She hung up without saying goodbye.  
   “She's coming. Should I Google… something..? I don't know what we need...”  
   “ _I_ have no idea. In movies, they boil water and get towels.”  
   When Esther arrived, there were two pots of boiling water, and a small mountain of towels and washcloths.  
   She wasted no words, though she did glare at her brother when she took his place by Angel's head.  
   She smoothed the dragon’s puckered brow, much as her brother had been doing, and asked how she was feeling.  
   Wide, white orbs opened to stare at Esther. “This can't be happening. I had a hysterectomy. I haven't even… _Howwwwwwww?_ ” The word became distorted by pain. She twisted and writhed, to no avail.  
   The three humans looked to each other for answers, stunned by her words. No one could think of any explanation that made sense.  
   Suddenly, Avi started laughing. It was a tired chuckle of disbelief. “You realize we're trying to explain how something works with a creature that only exists because God made her, right? I mean, if He could give her wings, scales, and the rest--not to mention turning a grown woman into something the size of a cat--why not throw in some eggs for good measure?”  
   “Survival of the species,” Angel croaked weakly. “A little warning would have been nice…” Her head draped wearily over the side of the tub.  
   Esther’s eyes narrowed. “You said you had a hysterectomy. Any chance you gave birth before that?”  
   Angel stared at the floor, unwilling to reply. Avi knelt beside his sister, stroked her twitching back.  
   “Tell her,” he coaxed.  
   She sighed heavily. “If you're asking if I know what needs to be done, the answer is yes.” That was all the information she felt comfortable imparting.  
   Esther did not press the issue. “Good. What do we need?”  
   They had to wait for another contraction to pass before she could reply.  
   “The water and linens are a start. We'll need scissors, rubber bands, baby soap, some of those towels piled in a basket, a cool cloth, and diapers.”  
   “Diapers?!” Every human asked in surprise.  
   “You forget, I was human when I was Created. I don't know if there will be eggs or---” Her spine arched, legs twitched with another spasm. A gush of clear liquid flowed down the bathtub drain. When it was over, she flopped pitifully, trying to get her feet beneath her.  
   “Uhh question: Who's gonna get in there and catch?” Kevin asked uneasily.  
   Esther laid a finger beside her nose. Kevin was quick to follow suit. Avi, oblivious to everything save his dragoness, was thereby nominated.  
   “You might want to change into something you don't mind getting messy,” Kevin told him.  
   “What? Huh? Why?”  
   Esther smiled sweetly. “You're going to play catcher.”  
   Avi blanched, started to shake his head.  
   “She's your dragon. Deal with it.”  
   He dragged himself to his feet and went to change his clothes. “And be quick about it! Once the water breaks, it's fast!”  
   He was back in a flash, wearing swim trunks and nothing else. At the looks he received, he just shrugged and said “They're washable, and it's gonna be wet.”  
   Angel chuckled weakly.  
   “You're gonna have to scoot over so I can get in,” he pointed out.  
   Angel, having gained her feet, stepped out of the tub with her front legs, leaving the pertinent parts inside the tub. Her legs were wobbly, and no one was sure she could remain on her feet throughout.  
   Kevin reluctantly sat on the floor beside her, ready to prop her up if need be. She nuzzled his shoulder in mute thanks. Esther was busy gathering the things they would need.  
   As predicted, it did not take long for things to escalate. Avi sat, cramped against the wall, a towel on his lap, thinking that there would be some sort of warning before anything popped out.  
   He was wrong.


	20. A Baby Story: Dragon Edition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The question is answered: eggs or baby... or both?

Angel strained, back arched, as she had done dozens of times before. Her tail thumped his shoulder, same as before. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, an egg dropped into his lap with a wet splat.  
   His face was priceless. There he sat, wedged against the wall, eyes wide and unblinking as he looked down at his lap. A camera clicked nearby, but he didn't hear it.  
   Esther gently reminded him that there would probably be more, and he needed to hand it off to be cleaned and dried. He did so with a dazed expression, caught somewhere between awe and revulsion.  
   It was much smaller than her egg had been, which shouldn't have surprised them. After all, she hadn't had to go through a birth canal. This egg was oblong, roughly one quarter the size of her own egg.  
   They had little time to admire it, for its sibling was not long after. This egg was a slightly different color than the first, but there was no time to wonder why. More were coming, in relatively rapid succession, like a sea turtle.  
   Five perfect ovals soon lay in the laundry basket, before Angel drooped against Kevin’s shoulders. All were different colors, all the same approximate size.  
   “I guess that answers the question, eggs or babies,” Kevin said.  
   “At least we can hide these easier than her egg,” Esther added.  
   “Guys, I don't think she's conscious,” Kevin said.  
   Esther waved away his concern. “That happens. She's tired.”  
   Avi started to get up, but she stopped him. “I've heard of twins being born an hour apart. You might want to stay put.”  
   He didn't leave the tub, but he remained standing. “My legs are cramped. Hey, should I get a clean towel? This one's kind of slimy.”  
   His sister took the soiled towel and chucked it in the sink beside her. She threw a fresh one at him, and it wrapped around his head.  
   Kevin and Esther laughed.  
   Angel stirred, heavy in Kevin’s arms. She mumbled something that no one could hear but him.  
   “What'd she say?” Avi asked.  
   “She said ‘no more’.”  
   The siblings looked at each other. “Does she mean there aren't any more, or she can't handle any more..?”  
   There were shrugs all round.  
   Their question was answered when her whole body quivered, back arched, wings splayed. Esther leapt out of the way in time to avoid being whacked by one of her wings.  
   “Nooooooo,” she wailed.  
   It was heart-breaking. She'd already brought five dragons into the world. What more was there? Did she have the strength for what lay ahead?  
   Clear liquid leaked out, not in a gush as before, but a despondent stream.  
   “Here we go again,” Kevin said, bracing himself under her sagging body.  
   This time was different. The dragoness arched her back, tail stiff, in obvious distress. Whatever was coming wasn't going to simply slip out with no warning. Time stretched on, seemingly endless. She heaved and strained, and made no visible progress.  
   Esther sat by the eggs and thought. Was it possible there was a baby in there, fighting to be born? Could a dragon carry both eggs and live young? Could a dragon even birth something other than an egg? They were working blind, here.  
   Suddenly, she stood up. Everyone looked at her, except the flagging dragoness.  
   “I think we're doing this wrong. We might need to move her. Try a different position. If there's a human baby in there, maybe she needs help to get it out.”  
   Angel pushed herself up on Kevin’s shoulders. She was trying to get vertical. He must have seen what she was trying to do, because he grabbed her under the forelegs and lifted. Avi had to duck sideways to avoid her tail.  
   Esther rushed to her other side, offering what strength she had. Together, they bolstered the exhausted dragoness in a sort of squat, much like a birthing chair.  
   This seemed to be all the help her body needed. With the very next contraction, Avi yelped “I see something!”  
   He was very glad that the towel he held out was clean. This was no egg, he realized. Eggs are not covered in hair.  
   Angel sagged between her friends, weary and tearful. “I don't know if I can do it,” she gasped.  
   “Sure you can,” they persuaded.  
   “The head is out, Angel. One more push, and it's over,” Avi encouraged.  
_So I was right, it is a baby_ , Esther thought.  
   An inhuman wail split the night as the dragon bent double, nearly nose to tail. A very human voice encouraged her, until he cheered “It's a girl!”  
   Angel collapsed into the arms of her helpers, who were crying tears of joy. Still, she could not rest.  
   “Pinkie finger… turn baby sideways… clear mouth…” she panted.  
   Avi carefully did as instructed. He was afraid to stick his finger too far, and rightfully so. He swiped the clear goo from the baby's mouth until she sputtered and coughed. She did not cry.  
   “Isn't she supposed to cry?” he asked anxiously.  
   “Long’s she's breathing, doesn't matter,” she said weakly. “Scissors, rubber band… tie off, cut cord… inch from belly…” She was fading fast, but determined to see things through.  
   Avi didn't have a ruler, so he used his thumb to measure. The baby didn't cry until the cord was severed. The tiny infant had a lusty cry.  
   “It doesn't hurt, does it? I'm sorry,” he apologized. He rocked her awkwardly, remembering to support her head.  
   “There's more to be done,” his dragon wheezed.  
   Reluctantly, he handed the baby to his sister for her first bath. Kevin didn't seem to have trouble holding her up for whatever came next.  
   She sank to her haunches and began pressing down on her deflated abdomen. This caused her great pain. She was weakened, ineffective. He saw what she was trying to do, though he knew not why, and he helped.  
   He pressed the heels of his hands down, hard, and she cried out. Her daughter echoed her cries, inconsolable. He looked stricken, but she held his hands in place.  
   “Again,” she gasped. She rocked his hands against the flaccid scales, showing him how to loosen the placenta.  
   All at once, it hit the tub with a splat.  
   “Move away, and do not look,” she ordered. There was a hard glint in her eye.  
   Avi scrambled out of the tub, studiously inspecting the child. He heard her order Kevin away as well, but heeded her admonition not to look. He watched enough TV to guess what she was about to do.  
   She was going to eat the placenta.


	21. Angels and Dragons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel pays his friend a visit.

She gagged on the slimy, iron-tasting thing. She knew the risks of anyone getting their hands on the rare substance. She also knew it would replenish lost nutrients.  
   But this knowledge did not make it taste better.  
   Angel was no mere animal. She had been human once. The thought of what she must do repulsed her as much as the taste. She feared her friends’ reactions to it perhaps more.  
   She turned on the tap and guzzled water to drown her abused taste buds. It was awkward drinking from the tub faucet, but the sink was occupied.  
   She turned the water off, absently noting the trickle of red down the drain.  
   “It is done.”  
_:So it is, and very well done.:_  
   Angel glared at the angel in the doorway. “Fine timing you have, old friend. Care to tell us why you didn't warn me?”  
   The humans spun to look at her, then the doorway. There was a man standing there. Avi recognized him as the delivery man who'd brought him Angel's egg.  
   “You!”  
   Angel looked at Avi, surprised that he could see Gabriel. “You know him?” She looked to Gabriel. “He can see you?”  
   Gabriel bowed, in that elaborate, mocking way he had. “I have acquired a temporary vessel.”  
   Her brow ridge furrowed. “You look the same as I recall.”  
   Gabriel smiled. “You see the world differently, if you will recall.”  
   He would not say, in the presence of mortals, that she saw the world as an angel sees it. That was against Angelic Restrictions.  
   “Dragon Sense,” Avi marveled. “You can see what he really looks like? That's handy.”  
   Neither angel nor dragon replied. He must make his own assumptions.  
   “Why are you here?” Angel asked, not certain she would like the answer.  
   Gabriel gestured at the eggs, lying unattended in the laundry basket.  
   “No!” More than one voice objected.  
   “They must be trained, as their mother was. We gave you the babe to raise, as you see fit.”  
   Many eyes turned toward the fussing infant in Esther’s arms. Gabriel took the opportunity to vanish with the precious cargo.  
   “He never was one for explaining things,” Angel growled. The others looked back, distressed to find him gone.  
   “What… what just happened?” Kevin asked.  
   “An angel just took my children to heaven's boot camp,” the dragon quipped.  
   “That was an angel?”  
   Their Angel slumped down the wall in the tub, her reserves depleted. She lay on her back, wings crumpled beneath her. Her tail wedged up against the faucet.  
   No one knew what to do. The baby wailed, her mother was unconscious, and they had no baby supplies.  
   The last, Esther decided, they could remedy.  
   She handed the baby to her brother and told him to stay with his dragon.  
   “Why? Where are you going?”  
   “There's a 24 hour store that should have baby stuff. She needs diapers and formula--unless dragons have nipples..?”  
   She wasn't being snarky, she simply didn't know.  
   When he realized it was a question, Avi shrugged. “Not that I've seen.”  
   She impulsively hugged her little brother, baby and all. Then she was gone.  
   “What do we do now?” Kevin asked over the crying baby.  
   Avi bounced her slightly on his shoulder, at a loss.  
   Eventually, Angel was roused by her unhappy child. She wearily held her paws out. Avi, desperate to stop the tears, lay her on her mother's chest.  
   Immediately, she stopped crying.  
   Angel blinked, startled. “Is that all it takes to make you happy?” she asked, amazed.  
   The tiny thing started rooting at her keel, and her eyes stung. “Sorry, little one. I have no milk for you.” Tears trailed down her jaws.  
   No one could tell this child no, it seemed. She scooted all the way around, snuffling at the iridescent scales. Since it kept her occupied until the bottles and formula arrived, she let her. She shrugged at the boys, as if to say “What harm can it do?”  
   No one was more surprised than Angel when the baby found what she was looking for.


	22. Nipple and Dime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So THAT'S what those are for!

The baby found the four bumps below Angel's ribcage. They'd never thought to question their purpose. She was covered in horns, frills, and spikes. These, however, held a surprise.  
   The infant nudged one, and the scales parted, like flower petals opening to the sun. She latched on with happy grunts, while her mother's cheeks glowed brightly. Her eyes went wide, then refused to look at anyone.  
   Kevin backed out of the bathroom, hands raised. “I'm out. Sorry man, I've reached my limit of weird.”  
   Avi was left alone with a dragon nursing a baby. The absurdity of it struck him, and he began to laugh. It was the slow clap of laughter, except no one else joined him.  
   “I fail to see the humor in this,” she said stiffly to the air over his shoulder.  
   “You're a dragon… nursing a baby…”  
   Her mouth twitched, but she did not laugh.  
   By the time the laughter had run its course, the baby was full. Angel carefully moved her back to her keel for burping, keeping her head supported. Avi watched her with an unreadable expression.  
   “You really do know what you're doing.” It sounded more like an accusation than praise.  
   Her head jerked up. When her eyes met his, they were haunted. Then she looked away, tears trickling down her cheeks.  
   “You never told me,” he said. The pain in his voice wrenched at her heart.  
   “At first, ‘twas not allowed. Then,” she said with a slow shrug, “you didn't ask. ‘Tis not something I like to discuss.”  
   She was saved by Esther returning with the supplies. She bustled in with an armful of paraphernalia, oblivious to the tension in the room.  
   “I didn't know what you needed, so I got one of everything… What? Did I miss something?”  
   As usual, it was Angel who answered the difficult question.  
   “It turns out that we don't need bottles or formula.” She still glowed faintly under her cheekbones.  
   Esther’s brow furrowed. “You mean you have…”  
   “Yes,” the dragoness said tiredly.  
   “Oh…” There was an awkward pause before she asked, rather hesitantly “Do… do we need a pump..? You know, in case she's hungry while you're off fighting something..?”  
   Angel nodded, though it was obviously an effort to do so.  
   Esther cautiously approached the dragon. “She needs a diaper. May I?”  
   The dragoness nodded again. Esther scooped the infant to her, cradling her with care, and carried her into the living room. She lay the changing pad on the couch, where her mother could sort of see them. She had forgotten about Dragon Sense. Angel would know where her child was, anywhere on their block.  
   As soon as Esther left the bathroom, Angel's eyes began to glow a misty grey. Avi was more curious than afraid. He approached the tub where she now sat, unexpectedly alert. Those unearthly eyes watched his every step. When he reached her side, she spoke. Her voice had a faint echo to it.  
   “The time has come. You shall look upon my unshuttered gaze.”  
   Avi retreated a step. “You said not to look forward to it. Why? What's going to happen?”  
   Angel's eyes grew mournful. “You may not wish to remember what must be done. I do not recommend retaining the memory.”  
   “Of what? What ‘must’ you do?” he demanded. He was too weary for riddles.  
   “You must receive my Mark. It will tell me where you are, at all times. There are other benefits, but you may see them as drawbacks. It is…” she paused, searching for the correct words. “It is a Binding. Just as I am Bound to you, so now must you be Bound to me. The process is quite... painful.”  
   Esther heard the last part. She rushed in and placed her body--and consequently the tiny body of the dragon's child--between them.  
   “You're not going to hurt him!”  
   The dragoness sighed. “As I say, it is necessary. I will, at his request, erase the memory of the pain. He will know what happened, but nothing of the cost.”  
   “Why? Why do you have to hurt my brother?”  
   To her credit, the dragon's eyes spilled two more tears. “It is not my wish, but it must be so. It is for his protection. This once, ‘tis my duty to inflict pain. It is hoped that this precaution will prevent future pain.”  
   Esther’s chin jutted out. “But you don't know for sure.”  
   The dragon sighed, more heavily than before. “I have not the time nor the energy for debate. Witness the Binding, or do not. Choose to remember, or not. But know this: If you interfere, you may very well kill us both.”  
   That said, an invisible force nudged Esther to the doorway and held her away. All sound ceased within the room, though she could see them talking.  
   Then the dragon's forelegs lashed out to hold her brother in an unbreakable grip. His body jerked violently, and she screamed. Kevin came running, and bounced off the barrier.  
   “What the--? What's this? What's she doing to him?”  
   Esther could only shake her head, sobbing and clutching the strangely silent child.


	23. Bonding Experience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She did warn him not to anticipate this...

Avi wasn't expecting his dragon to seize his arms. Before he could look away, her eyelids opened.  
   At first, he was vaguely disappointed. They were the same blue-grey, ever-changing eyes she had when she was human. It didn't occur to him until later that she should have had slitted pupils, or green eyes, or any of the other things dragon eyes were “supposed” to have.  
   Then her pupils expanded, filling the orbs entirely. He had a moment of panic, because they looked like demon eyes.  
   Until, that is, the universe exploded into the depths of her pupils. He was drawn into the galaxies, asteroid belts, supernovae; the whole of the universe trapped him in the eyes of the dragon.  
   Then the pain she had warned of lashed his very bones. It sliced and carved designs in divine fire, leaving every bone it scorched agonizingly raw. Had he been able to count by the time it was over, he would have known that his body jerked two hundred and six times.  
   Once for every bone in his body.  
   When it was over, her eyelids slammed down. Her forelegs dropped from his arms, and she fell forward, gasping for air.  
   As soon as his arms were released, he, too, fell to his hands and knees, struggling for air.  
   Esther and Kevin rushed in, stumbling over each other in their haste to reach the stricken man.  
   “Avi? C’mon man, talk to us. You okay?”  
   He could only mumble incoherent reassurances.  
   “Decide,” Angel wheezed. Her voice was shredded, for she'd screamed herself hoarse.  
   Avi was in little better shape. “No,” he rasped.  
   “No, what? What are you saying?”  
   The dragon's head lifted enough to meet his rebellious gaze, though it visibly cost her. “This memory may do irreversible damage,” she rumbled. It sounded like the inside of a rock tumbler.  
   “Do you remember?” He knew the answer, of course.  
   “I had nine months in a sensory deprivation tank to recover.”  
   Esther winced when they spoke. Her own throat ached in sympathy. “Stop talking, both of you! Can't you, I don't know, heal him?”  
   Kevin spoke up, reminding them of his arm that very afternoon. “If you can do that--”  
   “I can,” she agreed. Her head dropped until her muzzle touched the floor, belying her words.  
   “Rest first, both of you. She's no good to us in the state she's in. Come on, let's get you to bed.”  
   Kevin helped Esther get Avi to his feet, but he cried out when any weight was put on his legs. His arms spasmed around their shoulders, and his every muscle jumped. Angel echoed his every shudder and sob.  
   Finally, she ordered them to set him down before her. “We will get no rest in this state.”  
   They could see that she was right. They gently lowered him to the floor at her head, wincing when they both cried out.  
   Angel placed two talons at his temple, though he objected. He thought she would erase his memory. He tried to fight the hands that held him, but he was too weakened by his ordeal.  
   In truth, his helpers privately thought it best he didn't remember any of it, though neither said as much.  
   But she did not erase his memory. She had made a promise, and she could not lie. Her eyes glowed green, and his body gradually relaxed. Little by little, he sank deeper into the hands that held him up. Little by little, some of her own tension eased.  
   When she withdrew her talons, Angel knew no more. She dropped like a stone. If it hadn't been for Kevin’s quick reflexes, she would have fallen atop her Bonded.  
   Kevin tilted her back, then pivoted the surprisingly light dragoness so that her body lay on its side within the tub. He set her head on the edge of the tub with infinite care. She had healed his best friend, despite having caused the injuries herself. He would reserve judgement until he knew the whole story.  
   Avi stood, stiffly and slowly. He still didn't know what she'd done to him, but he wouldn't get answers for a while.  
   He went gratefully to sleep.


	24. Pentatonix Meets the Baby

Avi woke before Angel. When he stumbled into the kitchen, all of Pentatonix was there.  
   “Hey, look who's up! How ya feelin’?”  
   “I feel like someone who had a branding iron taken to his bones. All of them.”  
   Scott wasn't the only one who winced at his reply.  
   “Why’d she do it?” Mitchi asked.  
   “She said something about it being for my protection, I don't know.”  
   Esther entered the dining room, the baby over one shoulder. She was patting her back and bouncing a little.  
   “Oh my gaaaaawd! Is that the baby?” Mitchi squealed in delight. “Can we see her?” In an aside to his groggy friend, he said “She was nursing when we got here.”  
   Esther turned so the assembled musicians could see the tiny face. There were collective sighs and coos. Everyone except Avi and Kevin asked to hold her. Esther demurred.  
   “I don't want to do anything that might upset her mother.”  
  _:Nonsense. She doesn't want to let go of her, that's all.:_  
   Avi spun toward the bathroom. Angel's eyes were closed, apparently asleep.  
    _How..? Am I hearing things?_ he wondered.  
   A throaty chuckle echoed within his tender skull. _:Nay, Bassman, you are not insane. Did I not tell you we were to be Bound?:_  
   Avi’s jaw sagged, and the husky contralto he knew so well bounced around his head again.  
   “Avi? Hey, what's wrong?” Kirstie snapped her fingers in front of his unfocused eyes.  
   He jumped, looked around. “Nobody else heard that, did they?”  
   Some of his friends looked at him with concern. Others seemed puzzled. All shook their heads.  
   Aloud, Angel said in her gravelly voice “I did say that there would be benefits.” Privately, she clarified. _:We shall hear each other’s thoughts, wherever we are.:_ Her throat sounded as raw as his bones felt, even now.  
   Avi went to his dragon, despite what she had done to him.  
   “You sound awful,” he said bluntly.  
   “Then I sound better than I feel,” she rasped.  
   Avi cupped her jaw, though his hand barely spanned it. “You did too much. Why couldn't you do the Binding thing after you recovered?”  
   The dragon started to shrug, but it became a flinch. “It had been put off too long already.”  
   “Why did you put it off? Did you have to be a certain size, or age, or what?” Scott asked.  
  _:I cannot tell them.:_  
 _Then tell me,_ he thought at her. He looked into her fathomless, ever-changing eyes. Though the universe was gone from them, they were every bit as mysterious.  
    _:I have shared your pain since I hatched. That is because I was Bound to you. You will feel my pain, now that you are Bound to me.:_ She paused, letting her words sink in. _:What do you think would have happened, had I Bound you before last night?:_  
   He blanched. He saw what she'd gone through, bringing her children into the world. The thought of sharing that pain made him faintly ill.  
    _:I cannot lie,:_ she reminded him.  
   Avi answered for her. “Something like that, yeah.”  
    _:I'm guessing the pain sharing thing is a secret?:_ he asked, firing the words at her like an arrow. His brow furrowed with the effort of projecting the thought.  
   She answered with a question of her own. _:What would our enemies do with such knowledge, do you think?:_  
   He turned a shade of green that nearly rivaled her scales.  
   He bounced back, as only he could. “So, you're probably pretty hungry, right?” He clapped his hands once, and she winced.  
   “Ravenous,” she wheezed.  
   He went into the kitchen to whip up some food.  
   Kirstie was the first to approach the dragon in the tub. She squatted next to Angel, whose head drooped over the side.  
   “Hi.”  
   Angel waved dismissively, her paw flapping weakly. “Yes, yes, hold the baby all you like, just be careful.”  
   The girl fairly vibrated with excitement, but she remained by the dragoness. “How? What..? I know it hurts, but… It's a good pain, right?”  
   A sound that was intended to be laughter rattled discordantly around the walls of the bathroom. “This is no workout at the gym,” she rasped. “At first, yes. It hurts, but ‘tis bearable. Once the water breaks, however, all bets are off. Your body feels like it's being pulled inside out.” She panted, the little speech robbing her of breath.  
   When she could speak again, she advised the young woman to have an epidural. “Not too soon,” she warned. “If it is too soon, it may delay labor. That often results in a C-section. The pain is, in the long run, fleeting. You see the rewards. Decide for yourself if ‘tis worth it.”  
   The dragoness lay her weary head on the cool rim of the tub, forestalling further questions. Kirstie joined the others in cooing and cuddling the baby. She would think about the dragon's words of wisdom later.


	25. Baby Mama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel has to admit to weakness, and difficult questions are asked.

“Soup’s on!” Avi called.  
   “Oh, good. What are we having?” she asked.  
   “Come and see,” he invited.  
  _:Unless Esther bought dog diapers, I cannot leave the tub. I am still bleeding.:_  
 _:WHAT?!:_  
 _:’Tis perfectly normal,:_ she assured him. _:It may last a week or two. Until there is a way to contain the leakage, I must remain here.:_  
 _:Maybe we can rig something with a diaper and some towels?:_  
   She sighed heavily. _:I am not certain that I can stand,:_ she admitted.  
   Avi was at her side with a bowl of something that smelled wonderful, in no time at all.  
   “Do you need help eating?” he asked anxiously.  
   Her pride bade her say no. She set the bowl on the edge of the tub and ate as best she could. That is to say, she ate the way a dog does. Whether the humans looked the other way because her halting motions evinced her struggle, or to spare her dignity, she did not know. She did not much care, either.  
   When she was finished, her Bonded promptly removed the bowl. She noted with some sadness that there were no more absent-minded kisses dropped on her poll, or brow ridge.  
   “So,” Kirstie eventually asked, “what's her name? We can't just keep calling her ‘the baby’.”  
   Some of the assembled humans looked to Angel for the answer. Others looked at Avi.  
   He raised his hands, palm out. “Don't ask me!”  
   Kevin and Esther exchanged Looks. In the end, it was Kevin who blurted the question on many minds. “Why not? Isn't she yours?”  
   You could have heard a pin drop in the silence that fell. Esther looked to the dragoness, for she could not lie.  
   “I shall ask,” she said. The fact that she had to ask spoke volumes.  
   Her eyes misted over with the grey fog. She sat perfectly still, in communion with the Host.  
   After an extended wait, in which Avi was subjected to scrutiny on all sides, the fog lifted. Her eyes returned to their customary featureless white. Silence reigned during her Communion, because Avi himself did not know the answer.  
   “All I have been told is that any tests will say, and I quote, ‘whatever they need to’. I am not certain what that means, but that is our answer.”  
   “Well, have you... been… with anyone else?” Kevin pressed.  
   Both putative parents’ heads jerked back in shock. It was, as usual, the dragon who recovered first.  
   “Pardon?” Her voice was dangerously low, but Kevin felt safe in the knowledge that, for the moment, she could not leave the tub. He flushed, but continued doggedly.  
   “I see how y’all sleep together.”  
   This was obviously news to Esther.  
   “We sleep the only way two large creatures will fit in one Queen-sized bed. Have ye forgotten the barbs on my tail? I say again, ‘tis not possible.  
   “If dragons were born with a hymen, it would have been broken by my children.”  
   Someone said “ew.” Someone else said “TMI.”  
   After an awkward silence, Scott asked “Hey, speaking of the eggs, do you know when you'll get them back?”  
   Angel shook her head. “Since they are receiving training, one would assume that they will not be eggs when they return.”  
   There was a collective “Oh!” It had not occurred to most of them that they would be gone so long.  
   “So, back to the baby,” Kirstie said. “We'll need a name for her birth certificate.”  
   “Yeah, how are we going to handle that? We can't exactly put ‘Angel, dragon’ in the mom spot.” Kevin had a point.  
   “Childbirth is not without peril. Her mother could have perished.” Angel was reluctant to remind her Bonded how close she had come to death.  
   “They'll expect a death certificate,” Esther pointed out.  
   “So, what? She was dropped off on his doorstep..? Do people even do that?” Mitchi sounded skeptical.  
   “We shall have to presume that they do,” Angel said. “But not today,” she grunted. “I cannot move, and neither would a human; particularly if she were alone. She would rest, for at least a day.”  
   The dragon's eyes twinkled. “That gives you lot plenty of time to do some shopping.”  
   Three or four voices raised in joyous shouts. Angel dropped off to sleep, quite without intending to.


	26. Marked Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel reveals what she has done to Avi.

When Angel did not wake for the baby's next feeding, Esther carefully placed her at a teat, as she did before. She had blankets all around the newborn, hovered until she let go with a faint sigh.  
   The remarkable thing about the unnamed babe was, she had not cried since her umbilical was cut. They knew she was hungry, or wet, though they could not have said how they knew. If she wanted her mother, she would lean aggressively in that direction.  
   As far as the humans knew, her diaper changes were prompted by their own observation. “Oh, her butt is wet,” they would say, unaware that the infant in their arms nudged them into checking her diaper.  
   This is not to say that the newborn herself even knew what she did. It was pure instinct.  
   When the dragon woke, her Bonded was sitting on the floor beside her.  
    _:You have questions,:_ she observed.  
   “I have questions,” he agreed.  
    _:Go on.:_  
   “First off, the obvious question.”  
   “What did I do to you?”  
   He nodded.  
   “I did to you what was done to me, at my Creation.” She continued where no one else could hear. _:Every bone in your body is indeed Marked. You bear mirror images of the Marks I received. Together, they make a complete design. You have the yin to my yang, and vice versa.:_  
  _What design?_ he thought at her.  
   She lifted one wrist mutely. _:What else?:_  
   His jaw sagged. She tried to nudge it shut, but her foreleg would not cooperate.  
   “What's wrong?”  
   Angel tried to say “nothing”, but she could not lie. A garbled moan was all that escaped.  
   Avi gently tilted her face toward the light. Lines were etched across her face, all down her muzzle. Her lips were dry and cracked, bloody in spots from biting back whimpers. Her eyes were glazed, tinted a dull orange .  
   “You are not alright.” _This is more than childbirth,_ he thought. _She's holding something back_. He could feel the barrier she erected around her thoughts, though he didn't know how.  
  _What aren't you telling me?_ he wondered.  
   She was therefore compelled to tell him, against her will, what she did not wish to divulge. Had he known what he'd done, he would have been horrified.  
  _:You were not the only one to receive Marks yesterday.:_ Her words were as stiff as her body.  
   “Oh nooo,” he moaned. He smoothed a hand over her head over and over, as if it would draw the pain away. “You took on new Marks… why?”  
   Esther heard, drifted anxiously nearer.  
   “For you, of course.” Faintly, so soft that he wasn't sure he heard, words floated through his mind. _:Everything I do, always for him…:_  
   A poignant silence settled in the apartment, which none of the Kaplans wanted to break. All three sets of adult eyes were damp.  
   Eventually, Angel spoke. “Know this: No matter where you are, or who… has you… I will find you. Until I do, I will not eat, or rest, or make waste. Let none stand in my way, lest they wish to face the full fury of a dragon. I will become the very thing medieval people thought us to be, all claws and fangs.” Her voice never rose above a murmur, yet her eyes glowed a pale, terrifying shade of red. The calm manner in which she stated her intent, coupled with the red eyes, sent a shiver down the siblings’ spines. They were very, _very_ glad that she was on their side!  
   Always one to try to lighten the mood, Avi said “So it's like ‘Taken’, right?”  
   She chuckled, but it was not a pleasant sound. “How does it go? ‘I do one thing, and I do it very well’? Yes, I become a dragon Liam Neeson.”


	27. Star Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The drawback of being a dragon

“So,” Angel said after another lengthy silence, “now that you have shared the pain of Bonding, and have had time to consider the matter, you must choose whether to remember it.” She turned large, sad eyes on Esther. “You do not have that luxury, I am sorry to say.”  
   She straightened, holding tight to the unnamed infant. “I will remember for him.” Her eyes were wet, but she did not waver.  
   Avi tweaked a frill. “I thought you said I have a choice.”  
   “You do,” the dragon admitted.  
   Esther took a single, abrupt step toward them. “Don't! Avi, you could barely _move!_ ”  
   “Do you wish to remember the pain, Avriel?”  
   The use of his given name gave him pause, but he nodded. “Nothing worth having is easy.”  
   Her eyes were veiled by tears at the memory of that day. In a way, it was the first time he'd seen her as a dragon. How naive, how innocent they had been, compared to now.  
   “Speaking of things that aren't easy, why are you making things harder for yourself?” Esther asked.  
      “Pardon?” Her head lifted jerkily from her Bonded human’s hands to meet Esther’s eyes.  
   “Well,” she said, “you healed Kevin, and then you healed Avi. Why don't you heal yourself?”  
   Avi straightened. He hadn't thought to ask, but he was interested in her answer.  
   “I cannot.” Even the effort required to move her jaw cost her dearly. “This is no ordinary wound. For you, I may anesthetize the Marks. The ache lingers yet, even in you.” Her eyes, hazy orange around the edges, returned to her human.  
   “But I am a dragon,” she grated, in that ravaged voice. “I must endure this trial, unfettered. It is what will make me strong enough to topple nations, if I must.”  
   Again, that distant voice whispered _:As always, for you…:_  
   “So you have to suffer?” His voice was no longer painfully raw, but the emotion in it was.  
   “That doesn't seem fair,” Esther agreed.  
   Angel's eyes shifted from orange to red. “Everything I do, I do for a reason.” Though obviously wracked with torment, she pulled herself upright. “If you wish to survive, you require a deadly champion at your side. One who can withstand torture, and never betray your secrets. A weakling would fall at the first wounding. I am a dragon. I will take a hundred lacerations, and never falter.”  
   The fire faded to a dull orange, and she slowly sank onto her side. “Even now, I would fight to the death,” she whispered wearily. Her head rested heavily on the edge of the tub, sides heaved, at odds with her words.  
   Neither sibling understood, but that was okay. They were, after all, only human.  
   Another human made herself known, in a most unexpected way. The unnamed child, half or whole human, did not cry for her mother. She sort of… tugged at her mother's mind, to get her attention.  
   Angel's head whipped around, stared at the newborn. There lay her baby, calm as you please, chubby hands stretched toward her. Her eyes, which had thus far remained closed, were open and aimed in the dragon’s general direction.  
   And the universe was within those tiny orbs.


	28. Dragons and Babies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avi has a question answered in an unexpected way.

Esther could not see the child's eyes, but she'd been trained by now. She brought the babe to her mother's teats and waited for the dragon to hold her before backing away.  
   As before, Angel could only reach her belly with her back legs. It was awkward, but as she'd said, she would overcome any challenge.  
   The newborn’s eyes slid closed to feed. Angel took the opportunity to teach her daughter an important lesson.  
  _:Can you hear me?:_  
   A faint telepathic murmur was her reply.  
  _:Okay, words aren't in your repertoire yet. Listen, then. You must never open all of your eyelids unless you are in mortal peril.:_ She sprinkled her orders with images, to get her point across. She would try explaining again when her daughter was full. They didn't need her Impressing on the first person she saw; especially not her Bonded human’s sister.  
   “So, about the hospital…” Esther was reluctant to bring it up. “You really want us to say you dropped her off and left? I mean, your DNA will come back as the other half, and you--the other you--haven't gone into a coma yet.”  
   Angel chuckled, a grating chainsaw of sound. “My other self doesn't have a uterus. I didn't know who my father was. Who's to say I didn't have a twin? Surely, I could not have borne her.” She spread her paws wide in the universal gesture of helplessness.  
   “They'll want to keep her overnight,” Esther doggedly pointed out. “That means bottles. I don't know if they'll let us stay, either. They only have our word that she's even his. Any tests they do will take days, if not weeks.”  
   The dragon’s eyes blazed briefly red. “They will not keep my child from me. And she will not accept a bottle. She is a part of me, and as such will not drink formula. I do not know how to rectify this. Would the word of a family doctor suffice? Must we bring her to hospital at all? What does one do, in the case of a home birth? All of my human children were born in hospital, so I do not know.”  
   Neither humans nor dragoness had answers.  
   Two pairs of eyes watched the suckling infant. The third watched her mother.  
   “They only have our word that she's even his…” _Problem is, even we don't know for sure,_ he thought. _How did it happen? Why? What do angels want with a half dragon? Why choose us as her parents?_  
   Avi’s mind roiled with unanswerable questions, and Angel heard them all. She tried to ignore them, but they skittered across the surface of her mind like waves lapping at a pebbled shore.  
   Finally, she could take no more. Without taking her eyes from her daughter, she thrust a treasured memory at him. If he did not remember the night their children were conceived, she was more than happy to remind him!  
   Avi rocked back on his heels, then plopped onto his butt. His face, when she solicitously turned to “check on him”, was stunned. Poleaxed was a better word.  
   She didn't know whether the memory had been erased, or he'd somehow forgotten. Either way, it seemed to be news to him. His cheeks took on the color of a ripe peach.  
_:It would seem that a dragon's memory is longer than that of a human,:_ she observed dryly.


	29. Avi's Girlfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel poses a difficult question.

Angel took perverse pleasure in his discomfiture. It was perhaps less than angelic, but she was not in an angelic frame of mind.  
   In a dangerously sweet voice, she asked her Bonded why he did not simplify the situation and have his girlfriend claim the child.  
   “We would then be allowed to remain with her in hospital, yes?”  
   None of the humans would look her in the eye, which only confirmed her suspicion. They had deliberately kept the girl from her.  
   Angel felt like the most horrible, unapproachable beast on earth. He wouldn't introduce his girlfriend to her because she was a dragon, and despite his assurances, she was to be feared. Perhaps they thought her unpredictable; unstable, even.  
   She cradled her child to her belly and very pointedly rolled onto her other side. Away from them.  
   Avi knelt by the tub, reached toward one tightly-furled wing.  
   “It's not like that at all. We know you aren't a beast, but I'm not sure she would see who you are, beyond the scales and claws.”  
   Her wing twitched when his fingers brushed against it, but it could not furl any more tightly. His hand withdrew as though he'd been singed.  
   “And now you have an infant to explain, as well.”  
   Her voice, raw from her ordeal, lent an air of doom to the words that was not intended.  
   “I do not care what she thinks of me. I am not her Bonded. Do whatever you must, to make my child a legal citizen. If you would keep her a secret, as well, see if Kevin has a friend with privileges at a hospital in town. A midwife’s certification should suffice.”  
   She still did not say “our child”, which hurt for no reason he could name. After all, she was the one who made it a point to restore his memory of that night. Why shut him out?  
   But how had she known about his girlfriend in the first place?  
  _:I am not an imbecile. You check your phone far more frequently than your social media reflects. You also behave differently than before I hatched._  
 _:And you forget that we are Bound. You no longer have secrets from me.:_  
   That last part did not sit well with him, she could tell. It was, in the long run, a necessary evil. Humans do not take as long a view as dragons, however. She followed his thoughts to their all too predictable conclusion.  
  _:I can, and certainly shall, block intimate encounters. While you cannot shut me out, it is vital that I be able to shut you out. After all, I am the only dragon in existence, therefore I am celibate by default.:_  
   She couldn't see the flush that crept over his face, but knew it happened, nevertheless. The Bond was rather inconvenient that way.  
   He thought a question at her, “throwing” it like a crude dart. _:WHY CAN'T I BLOCK YOU?:_  
   She winced, though he couldn't see it. _:No need to shout. I hear your surface thoughts quite clearly, thank you. As for your question, it is because you are only half Bound to me; whereas I am wholly Bound to you. Well, as far as your human skeleton will allow.:_  
   Confusion spilled from him, so she elaborated. _:The Marks are on our bones. You have fewer than I do.:_  
 _:But… How are we unevenly Bound?:_  
   She sighed. It sounded like a rock tumbler echoing around the tile. :I was Marked at my Creation, and the mirror images appeared when I Marked you.:  
   She heard him fidget impatiently. _:I meant why didn't you give me both halves?:_  
 _:Quite simply because they are not mine to give.:_ More quietly, he “heard” _:So my heart is Bound to no man…:_  
   He didn't know if she knew he heard her side commentary, but it was proof that she could not block him entirely. He decided to keep the knowledge to himself. She already had too many secrets from him.  
   “So which shall it be, midwife or girlfriend? If you decide to keep her a secret, I can hide her from the girl. It is, as always, your choice.”  
   Avi looked to his big sister for advice, but she agreed with Angel.  
   “She's right, it's your choice.”


	30. The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel reflects on her own fallibility.

Angel never knew which option her Bonded chose. Quite frankly, she did not care to listen. She tuned out the words around her, and again attempted to teach her child telepathic etiquette. It was far less emotionally taxing.  
   This was not to say that she relaxed her vigil around the house. She had ample reason to protect it. Evil never rests, but it did leave them alone for a few weeks.  
   During that time, Angel was again distant. She was in a deep depression that a doctor would have labeled post-partum. Doctors didn't know everything. Angel had given the man she loved a child. She was, however, in a dragon's body. Even if he hadn't had a girlfriend, she could never have had a relationship with him.  
   She had known all of this, the night Gabriel came to her.

   She'd been sleeping soundly, which was rare. A sound woke her, or maybe it was a sensation. The overall impression was of a thunderclap.  
   In her bedroom doorway stood a being limned in bright light. It--he--was impossibly tall, given the height she knew the opening to be. Perhaps it was his presence that filled the entry--nay, the entire bedroom.  
   “You have been Chosen, child.”  
   Despite the somber tone, she bristled. “I haven't been a child in decades,” she snapped irritably. She was half-awake, which never boded well for the person who woke her. She'd been known to hurl objects in the middle of the night.  
   Impossibly, the angel (for what else could it be?) laughed. It was a hearty bellow that she was sure would wake her neighbors, but no fists accosted her walls.  
   “All the same, you have been Chos--” he stopped talking to swipe holy water from his face. “I assure you, this is no demonic trickery.”  
   She glanced at the salt line on her window. It was intact. She rifled through her purse while the angelic being appraised her of the situation.  
   “I am Gabriel,” he said, which gave her pause. She rather liked the myriad depictions of Gabriel, including the one on her addiction, “Supernatural”.  
   “I oversee Guardian Angels,” which she'd read before.  
   “They say you're also affiliated with music, though I've no idea why. Just because you're supposed to blow the Horn? Sorry, that's the last music I'd want to hear.”  
   Before she could deliver the punch line, he beat her to it. “It would be the last music you'd hear.”  
   She scowled up at him. “I know. It's called a joke.”  
   Without missing a beat, he went back to delivering what seemed to be a well-rehearsed speech. Something about saving lives. She didn't remember it now.  
   She cut him short. “Look, I'm not doing anything but taking up space and feeling sorry for myself. I'm ready to sign up, but first, who are you sending me to protect?”  
   Gabriel smirked, she swore he did. Bright light or not, she knew males well enough to know. Or was he allowing her to sense it through some divine magic? She was no expert on the subject, and it disconcerted her.  
   “I believe you have heard of him. One Avriel Benjamin--”  
   “Kaplan? Double sold!” She thrust her hand out. Metal winked in the angel's light. He likely knew what she held, and was rightfully unafraid.  
   Gabriel shook a hand adorned with a silver ring, and a crucifix palmed as neatly as her magician ex-boyfriend could ever achieve. He didn't bat an eyelash, not that she was sure he had any.  
   That was her last human thought: _Do angels have eyelashes?_


	31. Battle in the Backyard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avi confronts Angel, and he doesn't like what she has to say.

The shower situation was solved easily enough. Angel had Esther purchase urine pads for elderly dogs (basically a larger puppy pad), and hauled herself over the edge of the tub. There she lay, gasping, while the shower was in use. She did not leave the bathroom. In truth, she could not.  
   It bothered Kevin, having a girl in the room with him, so he began taking evening showers at his girlfriend's place. Avi was used to her constant presence, and besides, she was in his head. No amount of physical proximity could be more intimate than that!  
   It only took three days for Angel to gain her feet. The bleeding, however, lasted a full week. They should've known that a dragon would not bleed as long as a human would. After all, the scent of blood would draw predators, in the wild. Having gotten the use of her legs so quickly, Angel suspected that if dragons had bled, it would be to lure said predators into their den. Why hunt, if the food came to you?  
   That said, she suspected it was the remnants of her humanity that caused the bleeding. She thought that if she'd only laid eggs, there would have been no trail for predators to follow.  
   If she hadn't been freshly Marked, she was fairly certain that she'd have been in fighting shape within hours, if not minutes. After all, she was a dragon.  
   As for Avriel, he didn't know what to do about his dragon--or their child, which she had yet to refer to as theirs. Always, Menolly (for that is what she'd named her) was her child.  
   Perhaps she would change, when the DNA test came back. The question he asked himself was, why did it matter? He had a beautiful, human girlfriend. Why did he want a surly, obviously depressed dragoness to acknowledge his part in the creation of her child?  
   Maybe that was it: male pride, pure and simple. Maybe he just needed her to say that she didn't spontaneously spawn her adorable daughter. He was there for her conception, and he wanted to be there for her, for the rest of her life.  
   The day he realized that, it rocked him to the core. He loved that precious little girl, and he wanted to be her daddy. He wanted to bounce her on his knee, sing her to sleep, pick her up when she fell. He wanted to take her to school, watch plays, or recitals, or whatever interested her. He wanted to walk her down the aisle. He wanted to bounce his grandchildren on his knee.  
   But Angel hardly let anyone hold her, once she got back on her feet. She acted like a single parent, and it aggravated him. Finally, when she was two weeks old, he snapped.  
   Angel was hovering in the backyard, cradling Menolly to her keel. He saw his daughter, not able to hold her own head up, five feet off the ground, and lost his cool.  
   “What are you doing? Are you crazy?!”  
   Angel folded her wings and dropped to the ground, gentle as a feather. The infant in her paw (she'd grown faster than he'd noted!) slumbered on, undisturbed. Her tiny face was nestled against her mother's warm hide, and he could swear she was smiling. This observation failed to dim his anger or fear for her life.  
   Unperturbed, Angel set the babe in the car seat beside her and buckled her in.  
   “If you were gonna pull that stunt, maybe she should've been in the car seat to begin with!” he hissed, unwilling to wake his daughter.  
   Angel turned placid blue-gray eyes toward him. She no longer bothered to shutter her eyes when they were alone.  
   “I tried that. She refuses to fall asleep unless she is being held. I had to wait until she was sleeping to--”  
   “Why did you have to be in the air?” he interrupted.  
   “Oscillation,” she said, as if everyone knew a) what the word meant (he did), and b) that babies needed it to fall asleep. That irritated him further.  
   “Couldn't you do that on the ground?”  
   She cocked her head, seemingly unaware of the problem. “I would not drop my child, if that is what you are--”  
    ** _“OUR CHILD!”_** he roared, heedless of the sleeping baby. He could not have known that she'd wrapped the infant in a soundless bubble. If he had known, he might have trusted her judgement a little more.  
   The dragon's head jerked back, shock written plainly on the deeply-grooved muzzle. _When did that happen?_ he wondered in some distant part of his brain. _She looks exhausted._  
   “In case you missed it, the DNA results came back. Gab--” he choked to a halt, unable to say the angel's name. She did not appear to be halting his speech. He massaged his throat and glared at her.  
   She simply shrugged, scales rippling in one fluid motion. “Welcome to Angelic Restrictions, Avriel.”  
   He scowled, a real scowl that she'd never seen before. “Anyway, _he_ said she was mine. The _tests_ prove it. Why won't you include me in her life?” Hurt poured from him, seizing her battered heart in a vise.  
   Tears leaked silently from her eyes, and her answer was a long time coming.  
   “Do you think ‘tis so simple, then? The dragon, the singer, and his girlfriend? Ye think we can all raise her together? The world is more tolerant of… unique family units, but I know where that road leads. In public, ‘tis you and her raising my child. In private, she and I would inevitably vie for the role of mother.  
   “Be warned, I doubt she will call another woman ‘mom’. She is special, Avriel. Like her mother. Ye think I've been hoarding her to myself, but I've been teaching her not to Bond to every human she sees.”  
   She waited for the full implications of her words to sink in. She watched as remembered pain licked across his bones, heard him wish that none of his friends would have to endure that.  
   “You ask why I do not include you. What would you know about teaching a half-dragon infant manners?”  
   He surprised her. “About as much as you.”  
   She laughed, despite the twin trails of tears down her jaw.  
   “All the same, I think it best if she learn from me. You are still learning how to communicate telepathically, and you tend to shout. While she sleeps, we may as well work on your sign language.”  
   His brow furrowed. “Why? We have telepathy now.”  
  _:Because that is not common knowledge. We need a way to communicate while in the presence of others. Besides, if the signs aren't exactly perfect, none of them will know. Before you ask, we do need to get them as close to correct as possible, in case a deaf person is in range.:_  
   He sighed. “Fine.”  
  _:Also, signing the words may focus your attention enough that you will no longer “shout”.:_  
   He flushed, but nodded.  
   They spent a pleasant afternoon in the sun, signing back and forth. The shadows covered him with cool, protective fingers before he could burn. He suspected that to be her doing, but she kept him too busy to pay it much attention.  
   Menolly woke long enough to eat, shaded by her mother's wing, then fell asleep right there on a blanket.  
   From the outside, they looked like a happy family spending the day in the backyard. It did not escape his notice that she hadn't answered his question, but he wasn't sure that she could.


	32. Sleep Flying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While he slept, she was keeping busy.

That night, Avi decided that his dragon needed more fresh air. She was more like herself than before their afternoon in the sun. She was even actively present for discussions around her, dryly observing that teasing the fans about tour was unwise.  
   “Well, we can tour now that you're big enough, right?”  
   She quirked a brow ridge, which he didn't know she could do. “‘Big enough’ for what, precisely..?”  
   He shrugged, uncertain what her tone of voice was trying to imply. Her mind was curiously opaque. Kevin snickered behind a hand.  
   “Protection? Flight? I don't know...” He trailed off, feeling like he'd missed something.  
   She let him off the metaphorical hook. “That you waited is admirable, but teasing the animals rarely ends well.” Her eyes twinkled merrily. She never forgot, even if it wasn't common knowledge, that she was one of the aforementioned animals until quite recently.  
   “And besides, my flight is largely irrelevant until I possess the strength to carry you aloft. Thus far, I have practiced with saddlebags and an empty saddle.”  
   Avi looked at her with mild surprise. He thought she'd been too depressed to note the arrival of her saddle.  
   He did not know that she had resumed her strengthening exercises the very night she regained her feet. The saddlebags were not buckled, for she had not the dexterity to reach and clasp them, but she'd begun where she left off: the hover. When that became too easy, the saddle was added (also unbuckled). When she could train for strength and endurance no further (and the bleeding had ceased), she had taken up nightly patrols of the neighborhood; bareback, by default.  
   It kept her from his bed, so it served double purpose. He did not seem to miss her physical presence, perhaps because her mental presence was constant, so she was able to avoid sharing the temptingly soft mattress. She simply stretched out on the floor shortly before he woke, and he assumed that was where she spent the entire night.  
   From his perspective, she seemed so depressed that she slept all the time. He did not know what she did while he slumbered. True, she was depressed, but she was a dragon. She could not sit idly by and recover, as a human would.  
   If he'd known how soon, and how far, she pushed herself, he would only tell her to stop and rest. She could not afford to relax her vigil.  
   Avi stretched out on his bed, noting for the umpteenth time how empty it felt without his dragon in it. He flopped onto the other side, facing his dragon.  
   “What do you say to an outing tomorrow?”  
   The large mound shifted in one sinuous motion. “I say it sounds like any other day.”  
   They had resumed their normal routine once she was mobile, except that she now flew above the car. She had grown too large to fit inside the vehicle.  
   “No, I mean a day out in nature, where you can run around to your heart's content. The backyard is too small now.”  
   Her only reply was a deep, throaty woof.  
   He rolled over again, hurt and rebuffed, but no less determined.  
   Several tense minutes later, he heard a sound that would have kept him awake, had he not had a dragoness to force sleep upon him: his daughter's tiny suckling grunts.  
   She had to touch him to make him sleep, so he lay and listened to the sweet bonding ritual that he was denied access to. The dragoness seemed unwilling to let him see her exposed and vulnerable. She always, without fail, turned her back to him before nursing their child.  
   But if he thought she could not put him to sleep without touching him, he'd forgotten about the Bond. He fell asleep picturing her the way he'd seen her, before she shut him out: in the bathtub, unashamedly giving their child sustenance.


	33. Flight Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel is anxious to really fly, in wide open spaces!

Angel did not fly that night. She performed stationary sentry sweeps from her spot on the floor; even when she was nursing, or changing her daughter's diaper. She would need all her energy for daybreak. As such, she was restless when he woke. She had breakfast cooked and clothing laid out, something she hadn't done since before Menolly was born.  
   Avi smelled the bacon before his eyes were even open. He saw the clothes ready and waiting.  
_She needs this trip,_ he thought. _I should've taken the time sooner._ He sniffed appreciatively. _Especially if it means breakfast!_  
   A throaty chuckle rattled the door frame. He jerked in surprise. He didn't have Dragon Sense. He didn't know she was bringing the food to him!  
   “Just this once, yes. The sooner you are fed and dressed, the sooner we can get out to the desert.”  
   He blinked sleepily. “The desert..?”  
   She laughed again, and he reveled in the rare sound. “Where else do ye reckon a full-grown dragon can run and fly?”  
   He had no answer. California had its desert flats, true enough. They were largely used for racing, as far as he knew.  
   “Interesting idea, Bass Man,” she said, eyes dancing with mirth. She set the tray on his lap and curled up on the floor.  
   He stared at the tray for a full minute before his stomach demanded what his eyes beheld.  
   Besides bacon, eggs, and toast, there was a small plate with a meticulously peeled and sliced banana.  
   His eyes stung, but he attacked the meal with gusto. He worked his way around the plate, saving the banana for last. Sort of like dessert, he told himself. It had nothing to do with nostalgia.  
_Right…_  
   The car was packed with food and baby paraphernalia in record time. He buckled Menolly’s car seat in, reveling in the one task she could not do without calling attention to herself. Most people would see a floating car seat, since they could not see the dragon holding it.  
   In truth, she could have made the car seat as invisible as herself, but she liked the way he proudly showed off what she'd taught him. “The seat has to be at this angle, and she has to face the back of the car, and the harness has to fit just so,” he seemed to say. It was endearing.  
  _:Okay, we're ready to go,:_ he thought at her. She winced slightly. _:You gonna be okay flying there and back? It's a long trip.:_  
   She nudged the door shut. _:Don't worry about me. Mama's got a new trick.:_  
   He flushed at the word “Mama”, but as usual, she pretended not to notice.  
   She kept one paw on the door, lifted a hind leg onto the sill of the open window.  
   “What--”  
   She pressed a talon over his lips. _:Sit back and be amazed, Bass Man.:_  
   His lips tilted into a half-smile at her arrogance, but he obligingly leaned back in the seat.  
   She hopped lightly onto the windowsill, and before his unbelieving eyes, she shrank to the size of the window in the blink of an eye.  
_:If you can blink before I change size, then I am rusty,:_ she chuckled with justifiable smugness.  
   She stepped onto his shoulder, shrinking to the size of a neck pillow. Satisfied that she had performed the maneuver to an angel's exacting standards, she curled around his neck and seemed to doze off.  
   Avi sat behind the wheel, momentarily stunned. It seemed he would forever be surprised by his Angel.  
   The dragoness had to suppress a bodily reaction to being called “his” Angel. Of course, she was Bound to him, so she was, for all intents and purposes, his, but it implied an intimacy she was not altogether comfortable with.  
   Given the infant behind them, it was an amusing notion, but she was not in the mood to appreciate the irony.  
   Avi eventually recovered his senses, and they drove out to the desert. As he said, it was a long trip. It took great effort not to sleep for real, with the rock and sway of the car, and the body heat warming her through.  
   The car stopped, and he cut the engine. Her head lifted, and there before her was a vast stretch of desert. Her legs twitched in anticipation.  
   Before he could open his door, she was out the window and bigger than he'd ever seen her. She pranced and leapt, quite literally kicking up her heels.  
   Avi laughed in pure delight. _This,_ he thought, _is what a dragon should look like._ He experienced a feeling of guilt, for confining this beautiful creature to a house. She needed more space to roam and fly.  
   She sidled his way, hide shivering with repressed energy. “Hurry up and get the gear, so we can _fly!_ ”  
   A jolt of fear shot down his spine. She stopped moving, though her scales still twitched.  
   “I cannot fly very high, or fast, or upside down, with my child strapped to your chest. Slow and easy--for now.” Her eyes, and feet, danced a merry tune on his nerves.  
   Only the reminder that their daughter would prevent fancy flying got his feet moving.  
   Angel shrugged into the saddle as soon as it left the car, but her muscles jumped. This was no cool, nighttime flight. The leather rubbed her the wrong way.  
   “Say, I don't suppose Cecil made a saddle pad, did he?”  
   Said item landed on her head. She removed it and the saddle, set the latter on top of the car (mindful of the sand), and flipped the pad over her shoulders. The saddle followed suit.  
   “Okay, buckle me up so we can _go!_ ” she urged.  
   Avi was strangely reluctant to close the trunk.  
   She fidgeted, making the hardware on the saddle chime. The criss-cross of the infant carrier outlined the muscles of his lean back, which was highly distracting.  
   He turned toward her slightly, surprised at her thoughts. She thought this thing made him look _sexy?_ He mentally shrugged and locked the car before fully turning around.  
   She said nothing, simply jingled her tack some more. He chuckled.  
   “Okay, I can take a hint. Come here.”  
   She side-stepped until her shoulder gently bumped the sleeping child. Somehow, she avoided stepping on his toes. When she wore a saddle and walked on all fours, it was easy to forget her sentience. Horses stepped on people's feet all the time.  
   Angel stood quietly while he worked. She wanted her tack secure for her precious cargo. She had to tell him twice to tighten the straps. He seemed reluctant to hurt her, which was faintly amusing.  
   She knelt for him to mount. There was no earthly creature alive that rivaled her for size; not even a whale, when you took into account her wingspan. It was intimidating. It was terrifying.  
   It was time. Avriel Benjamin Kaplan was about to ride a dragon for the first time. His dragon.


	34. Flight of Fancy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avi experiences his very first flight adragonback!

Avi threw his leg over her shoulders, mindful of his tiny daughter. He buckled the flight straps to almost painful tightness, all nerves.  
  _:That long one goes around your waist. You need to secure more than your legs, silly bass.:_  
   “Oh…” He unwound the long strap from its knotted figure eight and looped it about his waist.  
   “Are you sure this thing will keep her safe?” He asked dubiously.  
   “As long as I do not go upside down, yes. Those are used on bicycles all the time.”  
   He grumbled something she didn't catch, but the thought was clear: A dragon in flight was far faster than any bicycle!  
   With a dry chuckle, she loped out into the desert sands. It was a slower gait than she liked, but she didn't know how much horseback riding experience he had.  
   Avi gripped the saddlehorn, exhilarated and terrified. Part of him wanted her to go faster, and part of him wished she'd started at a walk.  
   His dragon had been cooped up far too long for _that!_ It was only the baby that kept her from tearing across the sands immediately.  
   She gradually sped up, until she was at a full gallop. It didn't last as long as her body wanted, but she'd read “Eragon”, and she'd ridden horseback herself, so she knew that there were limits to human endurance.  
   She reluctantly looped back toward the car, taking care not to turn too sharply. When she had a bead on the vehicle, she gathered her legs under her and launched into the sky.  
   Avi screamed. He couldn't help it. It took him by surprise. There was nothing but sand and sky around him, so he had no perspective on how high they were. One hand clutched the saddlehorn, the other held his daughter to his chest.  
   Had he had perspective points, he'd have known that they were a scarce twenty feet off the ground. She flew higher on her patrol runs, but she doubted that would matter.  
   The car was his beacon of sanity. He focused on it, but it seemed to take forever to draw closer. Eventually, it dawned on him (with a slight draconic prod) that it was because they were actually flying quite slowly.  
   When he saw that they were on a lazy, kiddie ride course to the car, he actually relaxed. He sat up, flexed his tired back, and smiled. He wasn't about to throw his arms wide and shout with glee, but he did enjoy being adragonback.  
  _Baby steps,_ his dragon thought, wrestling with frustration. _He's got to trust me first. Only when he knows I would never put him in harm's way will he truly share my love of flying._  
   Avi, as usual, pretended not to hear the faint thoughts filtering through his mind. It was reassuring, knowing that she was willing to be patient with him.  
   She warned him before backwinging over the car. Her wings drove backward, spilling air and reducing their altitude in great pumping motions.  
   He marveled at the sheer power it took to slow something her size. He watched muscles ripple and bunch, making light of gravity. He felt her shoulders flex against the ground as they easily accepted his weight, and that of the saddle. The massive wings flicked errant sand from the car before tucking in great folds at her sides.  
   It was only then that he noticed how she'd landed. Instead of sweeping wind across the car, as a simple-minded mount might have, she swept it away from the car. There was a new swell of sand thirty feet away. Their car would have been buried in sand, were she less intelligent!  
   Angel knelt for him to dismount. He unbuckled the straps and slid down one foreleg. For all her size, it didn't seem too far to slide.  
   It was a neat bit of draconic trickery, that. She was precisely as big or small as she needed to be. Because he was inexperienced, her leg shortened on that side.  
   She continued to shrink after he touched the ground, in order to step out of the tack. It would be easier to simply step into it next time, and grow into it.  
   Of course, she did not tell him the trick of it. Secrecy was vital to a dragon's survival.  
   When he'd packed the saddle and pad away, she suggested he buckle the baby into her car seat.  
   “Why?” he asked.  
   Her eyes sparkled a challenge. “Someone mentioned a race.”


	35. Rock and Roll Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avi gets another surprise from his dragon.

Avi looked down at the sleeping child. “I'm not sure we should be racing with her in the car.”  
   Angel's eyes danced. “I suppose I could carry her. Of course, I'd have to run bipedal, so you'd have the advantage…”  
   He didn't like that idea either, she could tell.  
   “Look, I still have energy to burn, but I can't leave you two alone. How else do you suggest I get the exercise I need?”  
   He softened, as she knew he would. It wasn't terribly fair, but she really did need to run flat-out.  
   “Fine, but we aren't racing! I'll just drive close enough that you can save us if anything attacks.”  
   Angel grinned triumphantly. He'd have to bury the needle to keep up with her, and she knew it.  
   “No flying,” he admonished with a finger in her face. She playfully snapped at the wagging hand before agreeing.  
   “No flying during the race, got it.”  
   He sighed. “It's not a race!”  
   She laughed, which he vaguely realized could be mistaken for a roar. “Keep telling yourself that, boyo!”  
   He turned to put the baby in the car, grumbling about the intractability of dragons. When he was likewise buckled in, he started the little metal beast. He didn't rev the engine like some teenager, he simply waited for his dragon to set off. She was the one who needed exercise, not the car.  
   She shot off into the vast desert with no warning. He knew better than to gun it; he'd only get bogged down in the sand. He followed at a moderate pace, sure he'd catch up to her.  
  _:You know, horses can run at 40 mph. I do believe I am faster than a horse.:_  
   The spedometer read 35, and she was a hazy mirage in the distance. He reluctantly pushed it to 45, and she was no closer.  
  _:Aren't you a bit far ahead?:_ he fretted.  
   She turned in a wide arc and literally ran circles around him. Two, three times she ran around the car. Gripped by a sense of male pride, he momentarily forgot the sleeping child in the back seat and sped up. Fifty, and she was still circling the car like a shark. Sixty, and the circles got tighter. Seventy, and she gave up taunting him. She surged ahead, faster than he thought possible.  
   He buried the needle, but the poor little car just couldn't keep up with his dragon.  
  _:Alright, back to the start for lunch,:_ she said cheerfully.  
   Avi backed off the accelerator, coming to his senses with an almost audible snap. He glanced in the rear-view mirror, but his daughter was still sound asleep. At least, she appeared to be. In point of fact, she was thoroughly enjoying the ride. She was her mother's child.  
   He slowed to 45 to make the slow arc homeward. It still seemed too fast, so he decelerated to 35. They did pretty well in their city car on the shifting sands, for a while there. He was paying too much attention to the road conditions to note the lack of company on the ground.  
   It was only when he got bogged down that he looked around. He had just enough time to register how alone he was, and begin to panic, before the car popped out of the sand trap.  
   Three more times he got stuck, and two of those times the car popped back out. The third time, he heard a grunt when the wheels stopped flailing at sand.  
   The grunt hadn't percolated through his brain when the ground fell away.  
   His first instinct was to panic, but he forcibly reminded himself that he had a dragon. If anything could pick up an entire vehicle, it was her.  
  _:You had better traction over here,:_ she said matter-of-factly. There was no strain in her “voice”, which he'd fully expected. After all, she just picked up a car!  
   She set them down on the harder-packed sand, and they took off like a flash. He'd been too stunned to take his foot off the accelerator.  
   His dragon kept pace. She'd expected this to happen, and not just because the wheels were spinning. She was aware of human nature. And she was in his head.  
   She had to remind him to stop; otherwise, he'd have driven all the way home in a fog. She could have forced the car to a standstill, but she preferred if he stopped on his own.  
   “Food,” she gently reminded him. She opened the door and carefully pried his fingers from the wheel.  
   He looked up at her, sense returning to his eyes.  
   “Food,” she said again. She reached to unbuckle him and took one of his hands. She tugged, and he tottered out onto the sand.  
   “Why don't you set out the food, and I'll get Menolly. You seem shaken up.”  
   He laughed weakly. “Yeah, I don't know why I'd be shaken up. A dragon just carried my car away like it weighed nothing.”  
   She chuckled. “Well, you kept getting stuck. Putting you on the firmer stuff was easier than pulling it out every time it bogged down.”  
   He paused with the picnic blanket in hand. “That was you?”  
   She snorted. “Of course ‘twas! Cars don't just pop out of sand!”  
   He turned away, flushing. He wasn't experienced with cars. He knew the basics, but without a dragon, he didn't know how to get out of a sand bog. For all he knew, going faster or slower did the trick.  
   The picnic was laid out in silence. He picked at his food, tasty though it was. Dragon flight tended to do that to him, apparently.  
   His dragon was not so affected. She tucked in with great relish (though she avoided the relish). It wasn't surprising, considering. All he'd done was sit. She had performed herculean feats with seeming ease.  
   Their daughter decided she was hungry, but her mother bade her wait until she was done. In truth, she was postponing the inevitable. There was no way to feed her child without either exposing her swollen teats, or being overtly rude.  
   In the end, in light of the shocks he'd received, she opted for the polite, if uncomfortable option.  
   She unbuckled her child, lay her on the blanket, and stretched out stiffly on the sand, wing extended for shade. Only the pertinent parts of her remained on the cool cloth. She needed all the physical distance she could get.  
   Avi’s appetite dwindled abruptly. His daughter, his child, lay at her mother's teats. There was something beautiful about it all, no matter how strange it might seem to an outsider. It didn't matter to him that the milk flowed from her abdomen, instead of breasts. He didn't care that there were four, instead of two. All he saw was a mother giving sustenance to her child.  
   Although, come to think of it, they sort of looked like naked breasts. Green breasts, but still similar enough that he had to look away.  
   “That, my dear bass, is why I turn away.”  
   He looked back, studiously looking her in the face. “Why, because they look like alien boobs?” He was trying to lighten the mood with humor.  
   She sighed. “I look like a dog nursing a human, and I know it.”  
   He leaned forward. “You don't look anything like a dog! Besides, don't they have 6, or 8, or however many teats? Wait, come to think of it, why’d you get 4..? You only had the one baby.”  
   She shrugged, looking out at the desert. “Perhaps someone with a strange sense of humor thought that there would be more offspring in the future. I shall never know.” She meant that she would never ask, but he heard the catch in her throat. _Lonely,_ he thought. _She deserves a mate. I wonder if anyone else has a dragon? Maybe there will be more dragons, even if there aren't now. Who knows?_  
   She heard his thoughts, but heeded naught. She cleaned her paw pads instead. Small rocks had lodged in the creases, and now was as good a time as any to remove them.  
   She did not chew on them, as a beast would. She picked them out with her talons. The long, narrow claws of her forelegs were ideally suited for it.  
   Curious, Avi edged closer. She cleared her hind paws one at a time, turning them slightly toward him as she did. She didn't mind him watching her feet. They were far less intimate than teats!  
   He hadn't noticed how inhuman her hind feet looked. There were only three toes, and those were elongated to the size her feet had been as a human--he resolutely pushed aside thoughts of her human body. The feet she had now were bent at an angle humans could only achieve with stiletto heels. The “heel” of her foot, elevated off the ground when standing, was adorned with a claw, not unlike a dew claw. This one did not retract, however. It stood out proudly, daring anyone to comment--as if anyone would question a dragon!  
   She moved on to her forepaws. These did not change much. There were fewer fingers (or were they toes?), and the nails were long and lethal. Other than tougher scales on the undersides, they still largely resembled the weathered hands he remembered.  
   She wished he wouldn't compare her bodies. She experienced enough dysphoria as it was!  
   Her right paw twitched, as did his right hand. She peered at her talons more closely. Ah, there it was. She'd grazed a shard of metal that was lodged between her fingers. It was the same color as the car.  
   Avi spotted the shard shortly after she did. He watched her try to remove it on her own, but her claws were too long to allow the pads to grip it.  
   “Here, let me get it.” He took her paw in his hand, absently noting that her hands were no longer smaller than his. They had retained the short palm and sturdy fingers, which were essential for walking. Long fingers would only get in the way.  
   Her paw lay in his hand, but it was tense. He wasn't sure he'd be able to remove the shard if she wouldn't bend a little. He stroked a finger from the tip of the afflicted fingers to the heel of her palm. At first, she jerked and tried to pull away, but his guitar man hands were stronger than they looked.  
   He ran his finger down her paw firmly, neither tickling nor jabbing. When that didn't work to his satisfaction, he took it between his hands and massaged the muscles into submission.  
   She'd forgotten how much stress was placed on her paws until he soothed it all away. She could've spared her feet the abuse and walked bipedal, but no, she had to make things harder..!  
   She was still mentally flogging herself when a sharp pain yanked her into the present.  
   Avi held the metal shard up, triumphant.  
   Angel took her paw back and licked the wound. She made a face at the taste of foot, but her saliva healed the tiny cut.  
   “So it's not that you couldn't heal yourself. You wouldn't.”  
   She gulped juice from a water bottle, the only effective method they'd found for drinking. A shrug was his only answer.


	36. February Folly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avi probes the strengths and weaknesses of his dragon.

After a long silence, filled with the contented grunts of the baby, he said “I didn't think anything could pierce dragon scales.”  
   She shrugged again, the motion as fluid as water. “The scales are probably thinner between my toes. Or maybe the sliver worked its way between scales. I don't know.”  
   “Thin scales?” The idea wouldn't gel. It was more likely the second option. Thin scales were a bad idea, to his mind.  
   Before she guessed his intent, he cupped her massive head between his long, tapered hands. His thumbs stroked the scales under her eyes. They looked softer, more expressive, but there was no appreciable difference between those and the ones on her cheeks. His fingers fanned out, seeking some minute change in the texture of her hide. They skimmed over her bony forehead, spiky protuberances, along her neck. Down her muzzle, even darting into her nostrils.  
   She snorted and shook her head, muzzle wrinkled.  
   He recaptured her muzzle, testing every single scale. The relatively small horn between her nares caused a frown line to appear.  
   “When did you grow that?”  
   She shrugged. “Awhile ago.”  
   He sighed inwardly. Getting a dragon to talk was about as effective as getting a teenager to open up.  
   She chuckled, but information remained locked away.  
   He continued his search for a chink in her armor, driven now to assure himself of her invulnerability. Her frills looked fragile, but they were as tough as leather.  
   Her head was sound, so he checked the weak spots on suits of armor. Down her neck his hands coasted, over her keel, and under her forelegs. He probed the crease behind her leg, but it was just as tough as her legs and feet.  
   Angel allowed the mildly amusing inspection. She was his protection against the evils of the world. Let him explore, she thought. He would find no weakness, for she was a weapon forged in Heaven!  
   She was less than amused when he examined her teats.  
   Oh, he was clinical in his evaluation. He did not linger, or fondle. He simply compared the texture of the hide to that of other areas.  
   She was acutely embarrassed when a diffident pinky brushed against the nipple beside their daughter, and it opened for him.  
   His hand darted away, to safer ground, but she sensed more curiosity than embarrassment from him.  
   He moved on to her tail, unwilling to address the forbidden area. He could not imagine a foe that would attack there!  
   Angel could, but she preferred he remain innocent; forever, if possible.  
   The underside of her tail proved as resilient as everything else. All the way to the skinny tip, the scales were tough.  
   He stood up, rubbing his back absently. “Just as I thought, no soft scales. I wonder how many places something thin can sneak through, though..?”  
   She shrugged, tingling all over. “I hope never to find out. Come, sit. Your back is tired.”  
   She patted the blanket beside her. Puckishly, he sat there, instead of where he'd been sitting. His shoulders rolled, trying to release the tension lodged there.  
   A gusty sigh dried the sweat across his chest. He was bodily turned so his back was to her.  
  _He helped me with my foot,_ she thought. _I can do naught but return the favor._  
   Strong talons gripped his shoulders. He idly wondered what another person would think, sitting like this. The thought did not linger long against the magic of dragon fingers. She deftly worked the kinks out of his shoulders, and he sagged against her. She shoved him between the shoulderblades none too gently, and he stretched out obligingly on the blanket.  
   It was awkward, lying so her daughter could drink, yet sitting up enough to get leverage on his stubborn muscles. In the end, she sat all the way up and switched Menolly to a lower teat.  
   She struggled to remain pure of thought, with his lean, wiry muscles beneath her. She retained her sanity by focusing on the task at hand, seeking out knotted muscles with ruthless ambition. As before, she stopped at his lumbar. If he had an ache below his waist, that was someone else's job to take care of!  
   She sat back on her haunches and burped the baby. This, at least, was hers. No one else could feed her child, for the time being. All too soon, she would grow older, and begin eating solid foods. For now, though, she had her daughter to herself.  
   Avi dozed where he lay on the blanket. She shifted so her wings shaded his prone form, and lay her child next to him. She would be confined to the car seat the entire return trip. Let her enjoy freedom for a while, she thought. She allowed herself to drift into sentry mode. It was the closest a healthy dragon ever came to sleeping.  
   In time, his eyes fluttered open. The first thing he saw was their daughter, curled up between them. Her mother's breath feathered across them as she seemed to slumber.  
   He took the opportunity to examine his tiny bundle of joy. Well, she was such a quiet child that it might have been more accurate to call her a bundle of calm. She never cried or fussed, which was probably why Mitchi adored her.  
   He muted his phone so he could snap a few photos, to examine at his leisure later. Neither female roused, so he snapped a few of his dragon in repose as well. Most people would see the desert, but not him.  
   Menolly had his nose, he thought. It was hard to tell with newborns, but it wasn't as tilted as her mother's had been. She had her eyes, though: wide, piercing blue eyes that would likely change color when she was older. The lashes were, however, as thick as his own against her pale cheek. He saw a bit of both of them in her mouth, but her jaw was all him.  
   He carefully removed her booties (it was a warmish afternoon, he reasoned) and was disappointed to see that she hadn't inherited his feet. Sure, his toes were a funny angle, but it was one less thing he shared with his daughter. Her longest toe was the one next to her big toe. He'd never seen his Angel's feet bare, so he wasn't sure which side of the family she got her toes from.  
_:They're mine,:_ she said.  
   His eyes snapped up, afraid to see anger in her eyes. She was so protective of Menolly that he rarely approached his girls uninvited.  
   There was no emotion in her eyes, because they were closed. Twin trails of tears trickled down her jaw, speaking volumes.  
   Angel dare not open her eyes. It was sure to be a tender scene she would never forget, the three of them sharing (at least in part) a picnic blanket on a cool February afternoon. If she absorbed that memory, it would haunt her lonely nights for eternity. His face, looking down at their daughter, would have her tossing and turning when she did try to rest.  
   So she denied herself the opportunity. It was too beautiful, and too painful.  
   Avi didn't understand the snippets of information that leaked through. How could something be too beautiful? Why would a family moment be a bad thing to remember?  
  _Family… Are we a family?_ he wondered.  
   Several more tears splashed over her gaunt cheeks. Understanding dawned, and he felt like a colossal idiot. She had tried to tell him, but he hadn't listened. Out in the middle of nowhere, it was easy to play house; but in the real world, she was an outsider. She couldn't carry her child through a store, or talk to other moms at a park.  
   They weren't typical parents. If he strolled along holding her paw, people would give him strange looks. Even those who could see her might disapprove of a dragon and human coparenting.  
   He tenderly placed his lips on her forehead, eyes scrunched shut against a tide of emotion. He could do nothing about the tears that still fell except wipe them away with his thumbs. A warm, pure happiness washed over him, followed too quickly by irritation.  
   He straightened, baffled at the expression on his dragon's face.  
   “I am not irritated at you. Apparently, our daughter thinks that a kiss on the forehead is tantamount to marriage.”  
   Then, seemingly unaware that she'd given him a precious gift, she lifted her head from his hands and began fastening their child into her car seat. She carefully lifted the seat and set it in the car for him to buckle. She could have done it out here in the desert, but it was his appointed task by now.  
  _Our daughter!_ he thought, smiling widely. If she had been foolish enough to watch his face, which she wasn't, the smile that split his face would have melted her heart.  
   But the dragoness was far wiser than that. She recognized the slip immediately, and fought for distance. He could become attached to their child all he wanted, but he mustn't grow too fond of his dragon.  
   Avi understood more than he wanted to, when his text alert sounded. It was his beautiful, human girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't know which toe is longest on his feet. Just delineating familial resemblance randomly.


	37. Doctor Who?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel faces a new challenge.

When they arrived home, Angel was mantled over the baby. She had been for several miles, but he hadn't noticed because of LA traffic.  
   “What's wrong?” Avi asked, tensing automatically.  
   “There is an unfamiliar person in the house. Female, at a guess.”  
   “Oh…” He hadn't invited his girlfriend over, but that didn't mean she wasn't inside.  
   “She might be unfamiliar to you, but maybe Kevin or I know her. You haven't met his girlfriend yet.”  
   His dragon glared at him. “Unless one of you is dating an inhuman entity, that is not who is sitting next to Kevin.”  
   “Whoa, you can tell that she's sitting next to him? That's cool! Useful, too. Does she have a weapon?”  
   Angel shook her head. “Not unless horns count.”  
   Avi was out of the car so fast that she had to remind him to get the baby out.  
   “Let me go first!” she hissed.  
   He looked around, but no one seemed to be looking their way. He didn't know about her “look away” field.  
   Angel resisted the urge to yank the door open and combat roll inside. She was a dragon. She met challenges head-on.  
   The young lady sitting calmly on the couch looked nothing like what her senses showed her. She paused, nonplussed, before she remembered her True Sight.  
   The woman was no longer calm. She'd spotted Angel, which was a red flag in its own right.  
   She leapt up and backed toward the back door, but Angel was faster. She pinned the hapless girl to the floor and scented her clothing, third eyelids wide open.  
   “Kevin! What is this thing?!”  
   Kevin was still sitting where he was, mouth hanging open.  
  _:IS IT SAFE?:_  
   Angel winced. _:Not yet. Something isn't right. She looks like an amalgamation of Heaven, Hell, and Fey, but she smells mostly human. Without Dragon Sense, she looks normal. I don't understand.:_  
   “What are you?” she snarled.  
   Wide eyes blinked up at her uncomprehendingly. “W-what..?”  
   Some snarky part of her brain spat out “What ain't no species I ever heard of.”  
   Avi snickered from the doorway. Her head whipped around to glare at him. “I told you to stay back!”  
   He dimpled unapologetically. “No, you said to let you go first. You can let her up. That's Kevin’s friend. The one who set up Menolly’s birth certificate and everything.” He closed the door behind himself and sauntered into the kitchen.  
   Angel scowled down at her victim. “You are not human. What are you?”  
   She rose to her hind legs, dragging the limp body with her into the kitchen. The light was better there. What she saw astounded her.  
   The aspects she'd seen were there, yes, but… At the same time, they weren't there. They were semitransparent, and not in color. They looked like something out of a black and white movie.  
   “Perhaps I see what you could become..?” She traced one of the three sets of wings attached to the girl, and she shivered.  
   “You felt that, hmm? Curious.”  
   She lightly tapped each of the faint aspects, and the girl responded most strongly to the divine attributes. The fey bits provoked a mild reaction. The demonic traces caused the poor thing to shudder.  
   Her eyelids blinked shut, and she heard a sigh from her Bonded.  
   “So,” he asked airily. “She pass the test?”  
   Angel nodded reluctantly. “The lass has been engineered for a purpose I cannot fathom, but the demonic bloodline is repugnant to her. She passes.  
   “Now, I daresay, she would like a stiff drink.”  
   The girl straightened defiantly. “I would never treat a patient under the influence!”  
   Angel slapped her back. “Atta girl! A dragon tells ye there's shenanigans in yer blood and ye stand up to her. Right, then. I presume you're here for my daughter's two week checkup?”  
   She nodded jerkily.  
   Avi touched her arm to get her attention, gestured to the infant in her car seat.  
   She was thorough, even weighing Menolly in a scale she must've brought with her. Angel was proud of her daughter for resisting the urge to Bond to her.  
   When she was done, she steeled herself to face the dragon. Angel was slightly amused by that, but in the long run, it was best if fear was the first impression most people had.  
   “Traditionally, women get a postpartum checkup as well. I'm guessing you haven't.”  
   Angel twinkled down at her. “Lass, I am a dragon. There is naught wrong with me, nor will there ever, save an inflicted wound.”  
   The girl, whose name she still didn't know, stood her ground. “Look, I haven't asked how a dragon gave birth to a human, or half human, or whatever, but I'm guessing it's not natural.”  
   Avi remembered the difficulty she'd had, and nodded. “She's right, Angel. For a while there…” He didn't finish, but his eyes flooded.  
   He didn't think either of them would survive. The knowledge wrung her heart.  
   She sighed with ill grace. “Fine, but the boys are _not_ watching the pelvic!”  
   Kevin laughed. “No worries there!”  
   Avi seconded the sentiment. “She won't let anyone near her… whatever it's called, so it'd ease my mind to have a professional take a look under the hood.”  
   Angel blushed, which fascinated the girl.  
   “Well, before I go lifting my skirt, there are certain formalities to dispense with.”  
   Avi tensed, sensing what was in store for the girl.  
   She didn't think anything of asking what formalities.  
   Angel swore her to secrecy, ordering all records kept on paper, and in her own care.  
   “Makes sense. Who better to protect your secrets than a dragon, right?”  
   Her records would be far safer than that! Gabriel (hovering out of the way) promised to hold them in Heaven’s Safe. It was probably a metaphor, but she trusted him.  
  _:Make sure she is thorough. I will wipe their memories afterward.:_  
_:Hey now, none of that. Leave the boys with basic information they already know. She'll probably need to remember being my doctor, but you can impose Angelic Restrictions to gag her.:_  
   Gabriel reluctantly agreed.  
   Angel beamed at the girl so brightly that Avi knew something was up. “Congratulations! You've just been given full clearance to treat the only adult dragon in existence. Okay, I don't know that for sure, but I am definitely the only Celestial Dragon at the moment.”  
   She stuck her left paw out. Before Avi could warn her, she took the proferred appendage.  
   Quick as lightning, the index talon of her right paw tapped the sternum of the young doctor. Dragon eyes opened fully, the universe exploded in them, and just as quickly turned soothing green.  
   It was over before anyone realized what she'd done.  
   The girl withdrew her hand and massaged her chest. “What was that?”  
   Angel dropped to all fours. “That was the cost of being my doctor. You are now Marked--worry not, Avriel. I only Marked her sternum. I must know what is in your heart. If you are about to betray us, willingly or unwilling, I will know it.”  
   She stated this with utter calm, irises exposed and placid blue-grey.  
   “By the way, what is your name?”  
   Somewhat dazed, the girl stuttered “G-Gwinn. Um… ow…”  
   Angel ran the back of a talon up the girl’s chest, eyes glowing green. Gwinn’s eyes widened when the pain faded further than it already had.  
   “Note to self: Green eyes mean healing.”  
   Angel looked over her head at Kevin. “Since she needs both hands to do the exam, do you wish to take notes?” Her laughing eyes danced to Avi and back. “I prefer to have my medical records in order, and you know the terminology.”  
   Thus Avi was saved from embarrassment. Kevin had gone to medical school and gotten a degree, so he was the logical choice.  
   Kevin squirmed. She sensed the issue and hastened to assure him that her doctor could call out her findings from the bedroom.  
   “Wha--why the bedroom?” Avi squawked.  
   Gwinn answered for her. “The bathroom isn't big enough.”  
  _:While I can shrink to fit, her arm needs to be able to go up--:_  
   “Okay, fine, bedroom it is!” he interrupted.  
   She snickered. In an aside to Gwinn, Angel said “Telepathy is a wonderful thing.”  
   “Hey, that's classified!” Avi yelped.  
   Angel calmly reminded him that she'd been vetted.  
  _:Besides, her memory will be wiped afterward.:_  
_:YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THAT,:_ he projected. She winced.  
  _:Do ye truly wish someone walkin’ about wi’ my entire medical history in her head? That'd make her a target sure’s anything. ‘Tis for everyone's safety.:_  
   He subsided, reluctantly.


	38. Doctor Gwinn, Medicine Woman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel gets her first physical as a dragon.

Gwinn decided to get the unpleasant part over with first, and Angel readily agreed. They closed the door most of the way, and Kevin sat cross-legged outside, facing away.  
   “See? This is why I put that towel down.”  
   Both boys turned slightly green.  
   “If I hadn't come to see you, this could have gotten infected. Next time you give birth, you should call me for a pelvic. Now I'll have to do a D&C.”  
   Kevin noted the procedure. Avi was glad that he didn't know what that was, and that she was blocking him.  
   “Mm hmm, just as I thought. No, don't eat it!”  
   A grim voice informed her that whatever “it” was, it couldn't fall into the wrong hands.  
   “My saliva will purify it of any infection.”  
   “You got that? Saliva removes--what, impurities?”  
   “Aye, both mundane and supernatural.”  
   Kevin scrawled that in the notes. “Got it. I guess that's why she drooled all over my arm.”  
   They didn't hear what was said for a while, then Gwinn asked him to note her healing abilities, both oral and tactile.  
   “Is there any reason you would use one method over the other?”  
   “Salivary for skin abrasions, touch for internal damage.”  
   Kevin nodded as he wrote.  
   “Hmm, you may want to start expressing, and alternating teats. This one is close to getting blocked.”  
   “I do both, but I make far too much milk. I've been trying to wean off these two teats, to reduce the supply.”  
   Gwinn said something neither human caught, but it made the dragon laugh.  
   “You've got to ask the boys about that.”  
   They looked at each other with worried frowns.  
   The door opened behind Kevin. He stood and made a beeline for the couch. He had a feeling he would want to be sitting for whatever she was about to ask.  
   He was right.  
   “So, um… I've always been able to see supernatural creatures, and… you see…”  
   Angel finished for her, quick as ripping off a bandaid. “She's got a few orphans that need feeding.”  
   The boys exchanged a Look.  
   “What kind of orphans?” Avi asked, not sure they wanted to know.  
   Gwinn ticked them off on her fingers. “Let's see, there's the unicorn, pegasus, worg, troll--”  
  _“Troll?!”_ both boys yelped.  
   Angel snorted. “I love how it's the troll that gives them fits, and not the worg. Listen, you both know a troll, and you don't have a problem with him. It's the cave trolls you've got to worry about.”  
   “We know a troll?” they asked simultaneously.  
   “I won't out him, but yes. I promise, it's perfectly safe. She'll be taking them back once they're weaned.”  
   “Umm… tour..?”  
   Gwinn hastened to reassure them that all but one would be weaned before then.  
   “Which one?” Kevin asked warily.  
   “The pegasus. Like their equine cousins, they nurse for a longer period of time. She's been bottle-fed for part of her life, but she's not taking well to it.” She shamelessly played upon their sympathies. “She's so newly orphaned that I haven't had a chance to name her,” she wheedled.  
   They consulted for a minute while the girls smirked at each other. They knew they would agree.  
   “Okay, the other three are fine, but we'll have to run the pegasus by the others first.”  
   Angel waved a paw magnanimously. “By all means, do that while we're finishing the exam.”  
   “It's got to be unanimous,” he warned.  
   “Yes, yes, of course.”  
   Gwinn examined her patient, tail to nose (at her request). Gabriel stressed the need for a thorough exam, quite needlessly. Gwinn was so enthralled to get the opportunity to study a dragon that she found things her own human had missed: her other tattoos.  
   “What are these discolorations here?”  
   Angel craned her neck to see the marks in question, and laughed. Avi didn't look up, because she'd erected a Wall of Silence. She didn't need to worry about people on the other end of the phone getting their memories erased.  
   “Ah, those are tattoos. I have many.”  
   Kevin looked up from his notes, startled. “I thought you just had the wrist tattoos.”  
   She chuckled. “How many people do ye know with only one or two tattoos?”  
   “Not many,” he admitted.  
   Gwinn described every tattoo she found. Kevin wasn't surprised that most were Pentatonix, or some other fandom. She had extensive geek knowledge. Angel assured him that they all had a meaning beyond the surface design, though she did not elaborate. That was not a medical concern.  
   “I'm guessing all of these scars were incurred around the same time as the tattoos?”  
   “If you mean while I was human, yes.”  
   Angel watched her face, and wasn't disappointed. Shock and disbelief were stamped across her face.  
   “We'll get to my Creation after the exam.” That was her cue to resume the physical, and she took it; if only to get closer to that explanation.  
   “This one?”  
   “Hysterectomy.”  
   Gwinn blinked, but doggedly continued.  
   “Here?”  
   “Gallbladder removal. I don't know if that was replaced as well.” She was enjoying the girl's confusion perhaps too much.  
   “Um, this?”  
   “All of those are either mole removal or cat scratches.”  
   Gwinn swallowed loudly. “What about all of these?”  
   “Oh, various things like burns, more cat scratches, and skin lesions.” Gwinn seemed nonplussed, so she elaborated. “My human body was highly sensitive. Skin, digestion, and ligaments, primarily. That's not really relevant though.”  
   Gwinn poked a scale with her pen, and the dragoness didn't so much as flinch. Avi, however, twitched and rubbed his arm. It didn't escape Gwinn’s notice, but Kevin missed it.  
   She pinched the scales between her fingers (which required a great deal of strength) while watching Avi. Sure enough, he winced. This time, he shot her a warning look.  
   “You've proven your hypothesis. We share pain.”  
   Kevin’s head jerked up. “What?”  
   Angel gently reminded him of the night Menolly was born. “Recall that I cried out every time he did.”  
   Understanding dawned. “ _That's_ why you waited!”  
   She nodded sagely. His eyes grew suspiciously shiny.  
   “Thanks for that.”  
   “‘Tis my duty to keep him alive and healthy,” she modestly demurred.  
   After he wrote the information, Gwinn moved on. She inspected the dragoness as thoroughly as her Bonded did periodically. Her more practiced eye saw the slight irregularities in the scales that Avi routinely missed, but otherwise there were no more surprises.  
   Gwinn steeled herself before looking into the dragon's eyes. Though all three lids were open, nothing strange happened, so she gradually relaxed.  
   “Are your eyes blue because you were human?”  
   The dragoness’ eyes twinkled. “Even then, they changed colors. Do ye note the heart-shaped freckle?”  
   “Oh, yes, I see that. Peculiar. What colors do the irises change to?”  
   “Blue, grey, green, and any combination thereof.”  
    _:They change with your moods,:_ Gabriel prompted.  
  _:Do they really? Huh…:_  
   She dutifully relayed the information.  
   “Hmm, you need more iron in your diet. Alright, close the first set of eyelids. Mm hmm, now the second. Oh, that's a nictitating membrane! Odd that they close in different directions. Is there a third set of--oh, the scaled ones. Okay, open the outermost lids. Can you see the light?”  
   Angel grunted an affirmative.  
   “Open the next set. Ah, now I can see the pupil and iris!”  
   Kevin glanced up in surprise. She was shining the light in the dragon's eyes. Maybe that's how she saw through the eyelid. Good to know.  
   “Right, while we're on eyes, what other colors do they glow?”  
   Avi was done on the phone, so she dispelled the Wall. “Honestly, you'd have to ask them. I can't see the glowing color unless it's completely dark.”  
   Gwinn looked to the Beat Boys.  
   Kevin promptly said that red was anger. Gwinn looked at her friend with new respect.  
   “You've been in the same room as an angry dragon? Dude!” she drew the word out and fist bumped him.  
   “To be fair, I was not angry at any of them.”  
   “Still…”  
   “I think yellow is irritation,” Avi chimed in.  
   “Perhaps also bitterness,” Angel mused. “Sometimes my vision is tinted colors. I thought it an illusion, but…” she shrugged, which fascinated the young doctor.  
   “You look as boneless as a cat when you do that!”  
   That earned her another shrug. It was very French, the way she expressed so much with that simple gesture.  
   “Um… what about blue?”  
   “Sadness,” Avi promptly replied.  
   That he knew that so automatically made Gwinn sad, herself. The dragoness must have thought so, for she got a look firsthand at the blue glow.  
   She coughed uncomfortably. “Pink?”  
   “Love,” the boys chimed.  
   Angel’s brow furrowed, so Kevin enlightened her. “They glow sometimes when you look at Menolly.”  
   The blue glow disappeared.  
   “Umm… orange?”  
   “Pain,” Avi said too quickly. “Far’s I know, just physical pain.”  
   Angel told her that she may as well skip purple.  
   “Why?”  
   Angel shifted awkwardly. “I believe it is likely the color of lust.”  
   Avi, who was thinking of the afternoon’s revelations, felt sad for her. Kevin and Gwinn were keen on moving on.  
   “That starry thing seems to be for Bonding,” Kevin volunteered. “And when she's doing other magicky stuff, they go all swirly and greyish.”  
   Gwinn was intrigued. “What other ‘magicky stuff’ can you do?”  
   “That is not relevant to my healthcare,” she said firmly.  
   Rebuffed, Gwinn went for the brass ring.  
   “Okay, then let's talk about your Creation.”


	39. Painful Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback sequence for anyone who hasn't read the first part of the series. Grab tissues, folks, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!

“Where would you have me begin?” the dragon asked.  
   Gwinn thought for a while. “I'm guessing you won't tell me anything about your human life.”  
   Angel concurred. “It is irrelevant to my medical records.”  
   “Okay, then tell me how you changed.”  
   Angel nodded. “The physiological changes are relevant, yes. The circumstances, however, are not.”  
   Gwinn grudgingly agreed. “Fair enough. So, who made you?”  
   “God,” she replied promptly.  
   “Well yeah, God made all living things, but which of those living things transformed you into a dragon?”  
   Angel's eyes sparked yellow. “No dragon was ever created by a mortal. I suspect that the attempts to do so are where the Unclean originated.”  
   Avi blanched, and Kevin wrote mechanically.  
   “Those… things were human?!”  
    _:Yeah, you can erase that part…:_  
   Gabriel heartily agreed.  
   “When I say that I was Created by God, I mean it quite literally,” she continued more calmly.  
   Gabriel edged closer.  
   “All of my atoms ascended to Heaven for reforging. It was… painful…”

_~And suddenly, she was there, pinned to something, or someone. All four limbs were secured against the floor, or whatever unforgiving surface resisted her attempts to writhe free. Those who held her fast were equally unforgiving._  
 _At first, there was no pain; she had no body yet. She was merely an astral projection. But then, oh then, there was pain. Her atoms were solidified into a vaguely humanoid shape._  
 _And then He began to break her bones.~_  
   Caught up in the memory, she forgot to block her Bonded. His body jerked in time with hers.  
  _~First, the arms. They were shoved through her scapulas to the elbow. The humerus was split into many pieces with one swipe of her Creator's hand. These became her wings. The ulna and radius were snapped in twain, to create a new humerus and elbow.~_  
   The dragon's arms and shoulders spasmed along with the flashback, as did her Bonded human’s.  
  _~Her legs were similarly treated; except her femurs were fused after they were thrust through her pelvis at a strange angle. That became her tail. Her tibias and fibulae were snapped in twain to form new legs and knees. Her hands and feet, strangely, were left largely alone. The fingers and toes were combined, but the rest was in the musculature.~_  
   The Bonded pair jerked like marionettes. Kevin scooted closer to his best friend, concerned but uncertain what to do.  
    _~Then He molded her skull, as though it were made of clay. She knew not what He did, for she'd gone nearly mad with pain.~_  
   In the real world, the dragon screamed. Her Bonded didn't share in the remembered pain, but tears flowed down his face unchecked.  
 _~She was turned over, and three more weights pinned her down. It did not feel right, lying on her back. Her entire spine was on fire, and she writhed in agony.~_  
   The dragon fell backward, as did her human.  
    _~:Have the materials been collected?:_  
  _:Yes. Please don't ask where I got them.:_  
 _"G...Gabriel?" She made a face. "Waugh! Why does my mouth feel funny?"_  
 _:Hush, Little One. It is almost over.:_  
 _She tried to reply, but what escaped her misshapen maw was little more than a whimper._  
 _:Remember what you said about your tattoos.:_  
 _:Wha--why?:_  
 _Fiery pain pierced her body, again and again. Sharp, jagged arcs of agony were carved into her very bones--and there seemed to be dozens more of them!~_  
   That pain, at least, Avi knew well. His body shuddered like the victim of a machine gun.  
   The two humans who observed the event felt helpless, but when they appeared to have matching seizures, the medically trained people did what they could to protect them.  
   Kevin easily kept Avi from biting his tongue off, or hitting his head. Gwinn didn't have such luck. Angel's head was bigger than that of any patient she had ever treated. She dodged swinging horns and held her head off the ground as best she could, but she heard at least one good rap against the floor. She was too busy to observe their other patient for signs of a head injury, so she did something she rarely ever did: she prayed.  
  _~Her back arched, limbs pinned down by seven cruel beings while the eighth carved into her. There didn't seem to be any blood, though she could see nothing but a bright light.~_  
   Her semiconscious mind registered Gwinn as one of the unwanted weights, and she began fighting the one, relatively weak restraint. Poor Gwinn was flung across the room, landing fortuitously on the sofa, unharmed. After a brief moment of stunned disbelief, she tackled the dragon bodily before wrestling with her head.  
  _~Gabriel's voice kept reminding her about her tattoos, but she could think of nothing that was worth THIS!~_  
   In truth, Avi had to agree with her. The knowledge that she had endured this not once, but twice--for him--shook him to the core.  
  _~When it was over, she lay limp, gasping. She tried to curl in on herself, but something heavy was set on her abdomen.~_  
   That would be the eggs and Menolly, he observed from the outside.  
  _~"Noooooooo!" she wailed. Everything was on fire, and this new burden only added to her misery. She just wanted it to be over. What had she done to deserve this torture?_  
 _:Hush, now. It is time to rest.:~_  
   The Gabriel of the present (after guiding Gwinn safely to the couch) tapped her forehead lightly with two fingers. Angel knew no more, in memory and in reality.


	40. Angelic Possession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel did say that a dragon could hold an angel.

Gwinn lay the dragon's head on the floor as carefully as she could, but the sudden dead weight was difficult to control. The only thing keeping it from thudding to the floor was Angel's Guardian Angel.  
   Avriel was at her side in a flash. One moment he was twitching on the floor, and the next he was scrambling across the carpet.  
   “Angel? Angel honey, speak to me!”  
   His friends glanced at each other at the endearment, but he was too absorbed to notice.  
   He lightly slapped her muzzle, but she didn't rouse. He didn't even feel the impact echo through their link, which worried him.  
   Then, abruptly, she sat up. She didn't roll to her side and stand, as she should have. She sat up, as a human would.  
   “That does not feel correct…”  
   Avi stared at her wings, folded unnaturally and half under her. That wasn't his Angel's voice!  
   “Ach! Must you think so loud?”  
   The thing inside his dragon clutched its head.  
   “If you were my Angel, she'd be able to block my thoughts,” he snapped, unaware that he continued to call her “his” Angel.  
   The dragon turned, wincing at the wrenching of its back.  
   “She's not human; you can't sit like that! You're going to hurt her!” He scooted around in front of the dragon and thought the proper seating arrangement at it. “Sit like this!”  
   The body accommodated while the face flinched at his loud thoughts.  
   “I don't know how she tolerates you thinking at her all day,” it grumbled.  
   Avi’s arms crossed over his chest defensively. “Like I said, she can block them.”  
   It was while he was glaring defiantly into his dragon's face that he saw its eyes. They were electric blue.  
   “Gabriel?! What are you doing in my dragon?”  
   One brow ridge quirked. “‘Your dragon, is she?”  
   Avi flushed, but held his ground. He nabbed one wrist and flipped it pad up. “We both bear the Marks. Mine may not be visible, but they give me the right to call her that, yes.”  
   The angel inside the dragon let him touch his wrist. Avi knew that. He'd seen how fast Gabriel was.  
   His head cocked to one side. “Interesting.”  
   After an uncomfortable pause where no one knew what to say, Gabriel enlightened them.  
   “I was here to secure her records. Now I must remain and repair the damage to her mind--what I can, of course. Most of the work is up to her.”  
   A jolt of fear shot down Avi’s spine. “Brain damage?!”  
   Gabriel nodded. “Specifically, her memories.”  
   Avi dropped to his butt. Kevin clapped a hand on his shoulder in mute sympathy.  
   Gwinn apologized profusely, would have kept doing so if they hadn't told her to stop.  
   “But it's my fault! I couldn't keep her head still!”  
   Finally, the angel/dragon spoke. “If you could have kept it from striking anything, you would be superhuman. She is a dragon.”  
   Gwinn pointed out that Angel said she wasn't quite human.  
   “True enough, but those aspects have not been tapped. They remain dormant.”  
   She was astonished to hear the thing inside her patient confirm that she was not human.  
   “I believe that her records are incomplete. Were you not documenting her transformation when this occurred?”  
  _Cold, man,_ Avi thought. _She's got brain damage and he's worried about the stupid paperwork!_  
   The electric blue eyes flashed mute irritation at him. He'd forgotten that he could hear his thoughts.  
    _:Since she is, as you say, indisposed, it falls to you to relate the events.:_  
   The voice in his head was, impossibly, more remote than the voice that rumbled from his dragon's throat. He gulped loudly. Barely-restrained emotions--if angels were capable of them--boiled beneath his deceptively calm words.  
   He dutifully recited what he'd seen and felt, tears streaming down his face unashamedly.  
   “She was pinned down. I don't know what she was pinned to, or by who. She wasn't even sure if it was people or just… sheer force.”  
   “Angels. Seven of us, plus myself.”  
   Everyone looked at him with a mix of shock and revulsion. Gwinn hadn't known until now that he was an angel. As for Avi…  
   “Couldn't get your hands dirty?”  
   Blue fire speared him from her eyes. “I was holding something precious, all right, but she is currently asleep in her car seat!”  
   Avi’s eyes bulged from their sockets. How was he holding an embryo--several, counting the eggs?!  
  _:I am an angel, you ass!:_  
   Avi recognized the quote from Supernatural, and his lips twitched of their own accord.  
   “Uriel, Michael, Cassiel, Raphael, Barachiel, Selaphiel, and Samael.”  
   The humans jumped when he rattled off that last name.  
   “You cringe, but ‘twas he who fetched her soul to Heaven. Why would he not stay for the Work? Although,” he said with a hint of bitterness, “I dislike the enjoyment he took from it. Blood is never pleasant--”  
   “There was blood?!”  
   Gabriel softened toward the boy. “Aye, lad, not that you will remember past the recording. No, do not argue. ‘Tis for the best.”  
   Avi tasted bile. So she was right about him. Still, he seemed to care, in his own way. Maybe he wasn't a dick, as Supernatural assumed angels to be.  
   “Finish the records,” he ordered.  
   Avi set his jaw to fight more tears, unsuccessfully. “He broke her bones. All of them, as far as I can tell. If they weren't broken, they were fused, or… molded into what you see. Even her skull.”  
   Kevin barely made it to the bathroom to vomit.


	41. Angel's Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel steps in to help his friend.

Gwinn wasn't sure she wanted to hear the rest, but Avi choked out the words.  
   “After she was the shape He wanted, He c… carved…”  
   Thankfully, Gabriel spared him. “All of her bones were Marked, with this sigil. Later, when she Bonded to him, she received this mark.” He held up the bass clef first, followed by the backwards bass clef.  
   Gwinn swallowed down bile before clarifying. “You're saying that God carved symbols on all of her bones? Even the stapes?”  
   Gabriel nodded, not looking at Avriel. He wasn't good with human emotions, and he could feel conflicting ones radiating from him through the link. If he were to name them, they would be: fear, anger, worry, sadness, regret, and love.  
   He loved dragons in general, but his personal dragon had somehow worked her prickly way into his heart. Whether it was romantic love or familial did not matter. He cared what happened to his dragon, and that was all the angels cared about.  
   “And um… Is this Bond thing relevant to her records?”  
   Avi’s ears perked up. He was interested in any information the angel would tell them, whether he'd remember it later or not.  
   “For our purposes it is, though we reserve the right to redact it later.”  
   Kevin was still in the bathroom, and it wasn't medical terminology, so Avi took the pen and paper. He sat cross-legged in front of the angel/dragon attentively.  
   “You already know that they share pain. What happens to one will be felt by the other. That will certainly be redacted, for obvious reasons.”  
   Avi and Gwinn shuddered in unison.  
   “They also share thoughts, albeit unevenly.”  
   Avi asked the question that had bothered him for ages. “Why can she block me, but I can't block her? She said it had something to do with her having both halves, but I don't really understand what difference that makes.”  
   Gabriel shrugged. It didn't look the same as when she shrugged. Only his shoulders moved, whereas Angel's shrug rippled sinuously down her spine.  
   “She is freer than you, because you are not fully Bound to her. She hears your every thought because she is wholly Bound to you. You cannot escape her, bodily or mentally.”  
   “What about their souls, though?” Gwinn asked, intrigued.  
   Gabriel shook his head. “One half governs the mind, the other half the body. There is no Mark for the soul. It would be… unwise to bind the soul of a dragon, in any case. She will outlive you, boy. That is why she holds you at arm's length.”  
   “I thought it was his girlfriend,” Kevin said from the bathroom doorway.  
   “I thought it was the species barrier,” Gwinn put in. When the boys looked at her in surprise, she said “Oh come on, a blind woman could see the tension between you two. She's protective of you, but she holds herself aloof. Once you told me she used to be human, it clicked.”  
   The humans didn't see where that thought led, and Gabriel shook his head at her. The boys were looking at her, so they missed it. Gwinn glared at the angel/dragon mutinously, but she held her tongue for the moment.  
   “I believe she told you that she will find you anywhere on the planet,” Gabriel said. Avi nodded. “All of her bodily functions will cease, much like a hibernating mammal.”  
   “I did wonder how she could go without eating or, as she put it, ‘making waste’,” Avi said.  
   Gabriel did not tell them that it would be the heavenly host sustaining her body. It was too risky, no matter where her records were held.  
   “It should be stated that she can speak into the mind of any living creature,” the angel informed them. This was news to all of them. Kevin felt left out, because she'd never spoken in his mind. This was quickly followed by relief. He wasn't sure he could handle having someone mucking about in his head.  
   “To do so, her third eyelids must be open. Otherwise, she may only speak to you.”  
   Kevin was reassured, forgetting that he wouldn't remember the information.  
   “That is all there is to know. Now, before I begin the repairs, I will return Gwinneth to her home. I will transport the whelps here, and then she must eat.”  
   Avi worried about the strain on his dragon, but Gabriel reminded him that he was in control.  
   And then, he and Gwinn were gone.


	42. Angel Food

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel prepares Angel's body for its recovery.

The Beat Boys didn't have a chance to panic, or react at all. Gabriel was back with the two equines faster than they thought possible. He deposited them in the backyard, vanished again, and returned with what looked (to them) like a human baby and a wolf pup.  
   Fortunately, Esther had bought a playpen for Menolly, despite their protests that a newborn didn't need one yet. Gabriel dropped the chunky baby and the hefty wolf pup in it and dropped to his haunches next to the kitchen pointedly.  
   Avi eyed him dubiously. “Do you know how to eat with her mouth?”  
   The angel grimly assured him that he would make it work.  
   Avi looked for leftover pizza, since Angel was able to eat it fresh from the shell. Gabriel wouldn't even have to take bites. As big as her head was, he could probably lay entire slices on the tongue!  
   Gabriel took heart knowing that a newborn was capable of eating what he was putting in the heating unit. It certainly smelled tasty!  
   It was only then that the angel noticed the scent. He was not accustomed to odors, or tastes. His natural state did not require the ability. Embarrassingly, his mouth dripped water onto the carpet.  
   Avi refrained from laughing only because he felt sorry for the angel. Food was a passion of his, and it pained him to see someone who had never experienced it. He resolved to cook something special after Gabriel ate the leftovers.  
   Gabriel himself was almost offended that a human should pity him, until he heard the intent to cook for him. No human, not even his former vessel, had ever gone out of their way to do something nice for him. She had regarded him as a friend, it was true, but she'd never done anything tangible, unprovoked.  
   One paw lifted to trace the cheek she had once kissed. He retracted his previous assessment.  
   When the heating unit beeped, Avi brought the delicious smelling triangular food to him.  
   “Open up,” he requested.  
   Gabriel opened the maw as far as it would go. The boys had trouble keeping straight faces. Angel never opened her mouth comically wide. She was too controlled in her motions.  
   Avi blew on it before carefully laying a slice on her--his--tongue. No, it was her tongue; he was just moving it for her. He was getting his gender pronouns confused. He fervently hoped this wouldn't last very long!  
   “Okay, close slowly. Good. When you chew, try to keep food from spilling out the sides.”  
   The face the angel/dragon made was just as funny as the wide mouth frog. He obviously enjoyed his first slice of pizza. The eyes closed, and he chewed slowly with a goofy half smile playing about her muzzle. _Darnit, pronouns…_  
   Gabriel didn't care how he looked. If this was what food tasted like, he understood obesity.  
   “You ready to swallow?”  
  _:I believe so. How do I do that, exactly?:_  
   Avi fought off a case of the giggles and pictured in his head what to do, hoping he got the point across. He didn't know how to perform the heimlich on a dragon!  
   Gabriel did choke a little, only because he had to stifle a chuckle of his own.  
   They got through all three slices of pizza without mishap. Avi took the plate away and went to cook something called steak.  
   Then the angel/dragon felt an unfamiliar tug on his mind. He looked around for the source, and was dismayed by what he saw.  
   “Why is the offspring leaning toward me?”  
   Avi poked his head out, and this time he couldn't stop a laugh from escaping.  
   “I, ah,” he struggled to say past the chortles, “I do believe she's hungry.”  
   And then the cursed man left him to figure out how to feed her.


	43. Mommy Gabriel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel has to suffer the indignity of breastfeeding.

Kevin brought the infant to the angel/dragon, grinning like an idiot. Gabriel stared at it with utter horror.  
   “She lies down to feed her. No, you've gotta roll on your side. Okay, now don't move. I can put her near the… you know… but she'll find her way to ‘em by herself. You don't have to touch her or anything.”  
   Kevin found it far too funny, so he avoided looking at the possessed dragon. True to his word, he set the baby as close as he felt comfortable being to her teats, and Menolly did the rest. She snuffled and scooted her way to the food source, latching on hungrily.  
   Avi poked his head out a second time and got to see Gabriel’s face when she started nursing. Poleaxed, that's the word he'd use. He didn't know what to do, or where to look.  
  _:Must she paw at me like this?:_ the angel grumbled.  
   Avi knew what he meant. He'd seen it earlier that day. Menolly kneaded dough at her mother's teat, which she had stiffly informed him was to stimulate milk production. It reminded him of kittens, which irked her for no reason she could name.  
   He airily passed on the knowledge, seasoning the steak that he felt Gabriel had now earned twice over.  
   He had just seared it and put it in the oven, when the other baby started crying. This set off the wolf puppy, who began whimpering loudly.  
   The chubby little troll was drooling all over the edge of the playpen and reaching for the milk he (she?) could smell. The puppy was blindly nosing around behind it.  
   “Looks like Menolly’s getting company,” Avi said. He worried about putting a troll next to his daughter, though.  
   “She was right about urban trolls, you know. They are no more or less dangerous than any human. The feral trolls are the ones to fear. The worg, on the other hand, will be best left to Gwinn when ‘tis weaned.”  
   “What is a worg, though?” Kevin asked.  
   Gabriel wrinkled the muzzle he currently controlled. “Everything that uninformed humans believe wolves to be. Worgs are to wolves as wild trolls are to humans.”  
   Avi turned on his heel and retrieved a bag of expressed milk from the freezer and popped it in the microwave.  
   “Her hide can withstand whatever the creature may do,” the angel said.  
   “I'm more worried about my daughter than her hide. I haven't seen anything yet that can so much as scratch her scales.” _Unless it's a sliver of metal,_ he finished where the others couldn't hear.  
    _:Yes, between the scales, a tiny thing can slip. Nothing as wide as a blade, however. Your dragon is nearly impenetrable. As weaknesses go, splinters are all but irrelevant.:_  
 _Hypodermic needles aren't,_ he thought at the angel.  
_:To what end? No drug will affect her. Not even analgesics,:_ he finished sadly.  
   Avi thoughtfully dumped the contents of the milk bag into a bottle and bent to pick up the puppy.  
   “Hey, can I take that one? I don't feel right touching your dragon's ah…”  
   Both men blushed. Avi handed the bottle over his shoulder to Kevin and picked up the troll instead. He knelt next to the dragon/angel and set the ugly baby reluctantly next to his daughter.  
   Much to his relief, it greedily latched on and grunted happily, completely ignoring his child.  
   “I wonder how long it has been since she drank from anything besides a bottle,” Gabriel said.  
   Avi stopped worrying quite so much, though he did keep an eye on them while the vegetables cooked.  
   Menolly finished shortly after the meal was plated. She was lying calmly, watching him approach. He set the plate down, gently put her over his shoulder, and fed the dragon one-handed. He didn't have much choice. The baby couldn't burp herself, and Gabriel couldn't feed himself; especially lying prone.  
   The angel didn't like the situation, but as Avi pointed out, “I'm a dad now. I've got to learn how to do things one-handed sooner or later. Why not now, when I've got an angel and my best friend to watch my back, right?”  
   Kevin asked if puppies had to be burped.  
   “I dunno, maybe if they're getting a bottle they do..? I know if they get it from their mom, they don't burp, but don't bottles have air bubbles..? Just ask Gwinn, she'll know.”  
   Gabriel coughed apologetically. “That will not be possible until tomorrow. I wiped her memory of the classified information and put her to sleep.”  
   The boys looked at each other. They'd forgotten, again, that he was going to wipe their memories.  
   Then they were too busy with the various babies to think about it. After Menolly was burped, changed, and put to bed, the troll was ready for burping. Avi elected, since it could hold its head up, to burp it on his knee. Despite all assurances to the contrary, he didn't feel safe putting it anywhere near his face. Gabriel had to remind him that it was a girl.  
   After the troll was burped, they had to send Gabriel for the diaper bag Gwinn used. Menolly’s diapers were too small for it--her. When he came back, the equines were hungry and pawing at the glass door.  
   “I think horses stand up to do that,” Kevin said helpfully. Avi agreed. Gabriel stood rigidly throughout, wincing when the foals butted their noses into the teats.  
   “Probably the same reason babies knead on you,”Avi volunteered with a suspicious twinkle in his eye.  
   When they were done (and the pegasus did, indeed, drink from the strange greenish animal), Gabriel stalked indoors and rapped the boys on their foreheads with two talons. He had no patience left for talk or gentleness. They were asleep and in their beds, with their memories altered, before either could object. Angels are fast, and so are dragons, when they want to be. Combined, the Beat Boys didn't stand a chance.  
   Now all Gabriel had to do was monitor the whelps while the adults slept. Once they woke from a sound night's sleep, it would be their job to care for the younglings until Angel woke.  
   The only repairs he did to her mind were cosmetic. He smoothed the bump on her skull and restored proper blood flow. He did not, as insinuated, attempt to return her memories. That would have defeated the purpose of causing memory loss in the first place.


	44. Tooting the Horn of Gabriel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel basks in his own benevolence.

He hadn't lied to the humans. He simply omitted certain words. He did repair “what he could”. He hadn't meant “what he could physically repair,” he'd meant “what he could fix without returning her memories”. Healthy blood flow was essential to proper functionality, and the bump was too obvious not to heal. To all outward appearances, she would be healed.  
   He also hadn't lied when he said that it was up to her to come back from amnesia. It was, in fact, for her peace of mind that he did this. Her human memories were torturing her with what could never be. He had tried to warn her, repeatedly, not to grow too attached to him; but he saw now that she could not grow more fond of him than she had been when she became his vessel.  
   He hadn't called her useless, as she'd assumed at the time. He was referring to the emotions that he was never fully able to suppress.  
   Now, he was giving her a chance to be a Guardian without those annoying complications. It was a gift, though the humans he encountered were rarely grateful for his generosity.  
   She would be more attentive to her duties, and more importantly, the depression should lift.  
   Avi wouldn't have to worry about her emotional state, which should improve his own. He could spend time with his girlfriend without guilt.  
   Eventually, her memories would return, of course. Gabriel could only hope that she would come to terms with her unrequited love by then, having witnessed his relations with the human girl.  
   Until then, she would drift in the serenity of unfettered emotions. She could truly enjoy being a dragon, perhaps even discovering new abilities. Not focusing on discarded humanity should advance her skills considerably.  
   The whimpering of the whelps interrupted his self-congratulatory musings. He sighed and began the feeding ritual. He did not bother separating the worg, knowing it was too young to be a threat.  
   He further congratulated himself when the three infants filled their bellies peacefully.  
   The burping wasn't quite as smooth. The worg was dropped easily into the colorful box (the dragon's tail came in handy). He couldn't remember which one of the humanoids could hold their head up. If they'd been the same species, he would have guessed the larger one, but trolls grew faster than humans.  
   Thus he wound up clutching both infants close to the dragon's body, across the spine. He wasn't confident enough to use the narrower shoulders; and besides, they slid from the teats up to the spine much more easily.  
   The bigger brute vomited on him, which he could do nothing about until after they were returned to their proper places. The smaller one showed him an image of a softer bed in her father's room, so he put her in it. The brute joined her canine companion.  
   He saw water in the backyard once, so he thought to wash the vomit off before feeding the equines. Unfortunately, they were not patient enough for that. He had to wait, watching it dry with disgust, until the foals finished.  
   It took him unduly long to find the water source. Embarrassingly, it was the unicorn colt who told him where it was. It seemed that he was more familiar with human settlements than Gabriel was.  
  _:I was under the impression that unicorns avoided humans,:_ he grumbled.  
    _:Look around. You cannot escape humanity. Mother taught me to watch for those water snakes. They spout so much water that the grass practically swims.:_  
   Gabriel felt a passing sadness for the orphaned colt. The attitude was likely a shield he used to protect his fragile emotions. All the same, he would need to be tough once he was on his own, so Gabriel refused to coddle the boy.  
   The pegasus, on the other hand, would require a gentle hand. She was skittish and shy, which may have been an inbred trait. He was no expert in animals, supernatural or ordinary. That wasn't his department. He gave her the space she seemed to want, and settled down for the rest of the night.  
   After all, who would dare attack two foals with a dragon protecting them?


	45. Amnesia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angel is slow to recover from her concussion.

When the Beat Boys woke up, Angel was lying in the backyard. Avi didn't remember everything about the previous night, but he knew she wasn't in the best health. He had a flash of her seizing on the floor, and a watered down image of the torture she'd endured for him.  
   Gabriel left him with nothing but the bare facts. The fresh horror was gone, replaced by the numbness of a secondhand story. He didn't remember the angel's intervention, but that didn't matter.  
   He trotted out into the yard and knelt next to his dragon. He couldn't hear her thoughts, but he could see the steady rise and fall of her chest.  
   Kevin followed at a slower pace. He checked her vitals, and although he didn't know the resting heart rate of a dragon, she was breathing easily.  
   “She’s unconscious, but that's normal for a concussion. Should we call in reinforcements? I don't know if we can feed all these babies alone, and she doesn't look like she's gonna wake up anytime soon.”  
   Avi stroked the bony skull, nodded absently. Kevin went inside to make the calls, and to make breakfast. His buddy didn't seem keen on leaving his dragon until she woke up.  
   An hour later, all of Pentatonix were arranged around the yard, or in the house. Some were feeding babies, some were changing diapers (the worg had been fitted with one of Menolly’s, with a hole cut out for the tail), and others were ogling the “horses”. The smaller one wouldn't go anywhere near the humans, and the larger one ignored them rather pointedly.  
   “...So you saw the whole thing?”  
   Avi looked up at Scott with glazed eyes. “Yeah. It wasn't pretty.” The others drew closer, except Esther, who was inside. Kevin went to join her, to avoid the retelling. He liked his breakfast where it was.  
   Avi stared off into the distance, seeing little. “You ever wonder what a cat would feel, if you broke all of its bones to make it into a bird? But… she was awake the whole time?”  
   Kirstie wept silently, and the boys turned green.  
   “She was awake?”  
   Avi nodded, eyes unfocused. “Anybody who takes being reborn lightly… And she was there.” He waved a limp hand toward the back door, where Esther was standing with Menolly. Looking at her face, Kirstie didn't think she'd heard the worst of it.  
   “So Menolly was Created at the same time?”  
   He was brought back to the present with a snap. “Uh, well…”  
   His sister's sharp eyes pierced him. “She was created the old-fashioned way, wasn't she?”  
   A deep, damning blush was all the reply she needed.  
   “How is that even possible?”  
   He threw up his hands. “I don't know, it just _happened!_ It was a little weird, but--stop laughing at me!”  
   Nobody else knew about her stint as a Guardian Angel, but his wording had everyone giggling.  
   “Weird how, exactly?” Scott asked.  
   “Wait, how did you..? She wasn't even born yet!” Kirstie said at the same time.  
   Surprisingly, it was Mitch who enlightened the other two. “She didn't have a body!” he giggled.  
   “Yes she did!” Avi objected, though it was debatable who he was defending.  
   “I could see right through her!”  
   “Whoa, whoa, what?”  
   No one except Esther could believe what they were hearing. Avi couldn't believe Mitch had known she was there, and still ignored her warnings the day she transformed.  
   “She was--what, a ghost? Astral projection? She said to ignore her, so I never got to ask.”  
   “Both,” Esther said. “In a way, she was a ghost, because her brain was dead, but an Astral projection because her body was dead.”  
   “Huh?” Scott wasn't the only one who was lost. “What kept her alive long enough to… project astralogically?”  
   His word confusion sparked a ripple of nervous chuckles.  
   “Mmachinness…”  
   “Somebody's awake,” Kevin said from behind Esther. “Told ya she'd be fine. I did go to med school, y’know.”  
   Avi ignored him. Angel didn't sound right. He waved a hand in front of her face, snapped next to her ears.  
   “Her reflexes are slow, man,” he fretted.  
   “That's normal after a concussion. Her brain's gotta reboot. Give her time.”  
   “Bbaaby hhunngryy…”  
   Everybody looked at everybody else, but nobody brought Menolly to her. She was clearly not herself.  
   Angel made a valiant effort to stand, but she collapsed with an inhuman whimper. Her daughter waved chubby limbs at her, squirming in Esther’s grasp.  
   Avi couldn't watch his girls suffer. He plucked his daughter from his sister's arms and lay her on a blanket in the grass. Angel did nothing unpredictable. She simply rolled to her side, and stayed there while her daughter was settled at a teat.  
   He looked down at his child--their child. The morning sunlight limned her in a halo, bringing out the red highlights in her downy blonde hair. It waved ever so slightly, fine as silk. The lashes that fluttered against her pale cheeks were long, and super-fine. He knew that when her eyes opened, he would see a reflection of her mother's: blue, as all infants’ eyes are, covered by a whisper-thin membrane that shuttered her gaze. It wasn't opaque, as her mother's appeared to be, and he worried that others might notice it.  
  _What a strange family we are,_ he thought. _She's half dragon, but I don't even know how dragons…_  
 _:Prrocreeatte?:_ Angel supplied helpfully. He'd forgotten she could hear his thoughts.  
   He smiled and stroked her brow ridges. _:Does your head still hurt?:_  
   She winced. _:Onnllyyy whennn youuu yelll at meee.:_  
   He still hadn't gotten the hang of telepathy, it seemed. Now that she mentioned it, his own head ached when he spoke with his mind. He'd assumed it was the effort of projecting his thoughts, but it may have been an echo of her own pain.  
   “Are you hungry, Angel?” he asked. His voice didn't seem to bother her as much as his mind-speech did.  
   She did not respond. She was staring absently at the pegasus.  
   “Angel, honey, you hungry?”  
   Still, the dragon did not answer. Worried now, he waved a hand in front of her face. Her eyes focused on him, with only a slight delay.  
   “Hey, there you are. I was asking if you wanted food.”  
   She blinked in slow motion. “I thought I was a dragon,” she said even more slowly.  
   He laughed, but it was a high, nervous sound. “You are a dragon.” He tweaked her earflap, something he'd done countless times, but she flinched. His gut twisted at her reaction.  
   “Then why did you call me an angel?”


	46. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a slow process.

Esther, Kirstie, and Mitch’s hands flew to their mouths, eyes wide. Tears sprang into more than one pair of eyes, including Avi’s.  
   “Be…” he paused to gather himself, tried again. “Because that's your name. You're my…” he swallowed hard, swiped at his eyes. “You're my Angel.”  
   She knew that he was telling the truth, or most of it. They seemed to be mentally linked. The Marks flared, forcibly reminding her of the Bond. Apparently she was his dragon.  
   She knew the faces around her. An innate trust of these people told her that she must have Imprinted on them when she hatched, but names eluded her. Even the infant at her teat was but a partial memory.  
   “Yes, I will eat,” she said, slurring slightly.  
   It broke his heart to hear his lovely, eloquent dragoness reduced to slow, stilted speech. It sounded like she'd had a stroke. He sent up a prayer for her health, more as a reflex than a conscious decision.  
   His prayer was answered in the form of Gwinn, coming to check up on her.  
   “Be careful. She doesn't remember much, including her own name.”  
   Gwinn nodded to Avi and walked carefully out into the yard. She was subjected to the same snarling scrutiny as the first time, but she was prepared for it. She withstood the all-over sniff, the unsettling truth that she was not as human as she thought. The only difference was that her patient could not rise to challenge her this time.  
   She was thorough, but her assessment was similar to Kevin’s.  
   “Definitely a concussion, which I sort of expected. She might have vertigo for a day or so, but considering her healing powers, it could only be a few hours. I just don't know.  
   “I'd stay and observe her, but I'm on duty at the nursing home today. If anything changes, you've got my number.”  
   She gave all of the babies a quick check, then patted Avi’s shoulder in parting.  
   “If I knew more, I'd tell you. Right now, you're the world's foremost expert in dragons.”  
   “But you saw all those little scars, and I didn't,” he objected.  
   She laughed. “That's because you see the person she used to be. I see the dragon she is now.”  
   With that unpleasant thought buzzing in his head, the lovely redhead left him alone with his dragon.  
   Esther found him later that day with a half-eaten sandwich on his plate, staring out the sliding glass door. She sat next to him and laid a hand on his arm to get his attention. When he was looking at her, she broached a sensitive subject.  
   “I've been thinking, and I think you should spend time with your girlfriend. Wait, listen for a minute before you interrupt.”  
   She held up a hand and waited for him to collect himself.  
   “Angel doesn't know who she was. She thinks she's your dragon, and nothing else. I think now is the time to introduce them.”  
   “You saw how she reacted to Gwinn! I can't risk her doing that to someone I care for!” He bit into the sandwich with more force than necessary.  
   “She only acted like that because Gwinn isn't human.”  
   The unspoken question hung in the air: How certain was he that his girlfriend was human?  
   His innate trust came to the fore. He wanted to believe that she would've told him if she were inhuman. Furthermore, he couldn't believe that he could be attracted to something that wasn't human.  
   The fact that he'd been attracted to his dragon mere days ago didn't occur to him.


	47. Angel Meets the Girlfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She can't see the supernatural... Can she? Either way, this ought to be interesting.

“...So you can see why I haven't been as… responsive lately.” Avi gestured out the back door, forgetting that his girlfriend might not be able to see some of the inhabitants.  
   “You got horses? Cool! Are you going to rent a pasture or something?”  
   Avi looked out into the yard. What he saw was a unicorn grazing next to a much smaller pegasus, and a dragon nursing a worg, a troll, and their daughter.  
   The pretty brunette saw a white foal lying next to a jet black one. The yard didn't look big enough for them once they were full-grown. Her eyes sort of skipped over the flattened swath of grass that was approximately the size of a private jet.  
   Avi took her hand and opened the door slowly. She thought it sweet that he didn't want to disturb the lovely horses.  
   They tiptoed across the grass a few feet before he stopped and flung up a hand.  
   “Wait!” She stopped and looked at him, but he wasn't looking at her.  
   A blast of hot air plastered her clothes to her body. It had no visible source. If he hadn't been holding her hand, she would've run in terror.  
   “Angel, stop! This is my girlfriend!”  
   She couldn't see the angel he was talking to, but her fear crept away. Angels were good, and if he could see them, it made her proud. She squeezed his hand in encouragement.  
   He let go of her hand to grab onto the angel with both hands. It shoved him back the few feet they'd walked, right up against the wall of the house.  
   “Okay, so I could've warned you she was coming! Yes, she's human!”  
   Her head snapped up. He was wrestling with an angel who was worried she wasn't human?  
   “Angel, you're scaring her.” He sagged against the house, apparently released from its hold.  
   The hot air blew across her again, but she was prepared this time. It whuffed up and down her body, oddly moist. Then it went away.  
   “I _told_ you she was human,” he said, aggrieved. “Now, would you mind manifesting? It looks like I'm talking to thin air, here.”  
   The girl straightened, thinking she was about to see her very first angel.  
   What she saw was vastly different from any depiction of angels she'd ever seen!  
   Mantled over a cluster of small, squirming bundles was the largest creature she'd ever seen! It was an angry, dark green color that darkened to a bruised purple at the edges. Scales as big as her palm armored the agitated angel. The huge, batlike wings took up the entire yard, with nary a feather to be seen. A long whip of a tail lashed to and fro, barely avoiding the foals. Claws dug into the ground at its feet. The muzzle was twitching with the urge to snarl, nostrils flared. Its fangs were just barely hidden behind scaly lips. Horns as big as her head and torso spiraled up from a high-crested head. The twin fans of its crest swam up like tsunamis, far over the roof of the house. The eyes, as big as her head, swirled a hazy red.  
   Then one of the bundles it protected began trying to crawl up a foot as big as her legs were long.  
   Its haunches dropped to the ground, and the tiny things swarmed toward its-- _nipples?!_  
   It was so absurd, she began to laugh hysterically.


	48. Hysteria

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avi's girlfriend tries to process the facts before her.

Avi held his girlfriend while she alternately laughed and cried.  
   “She won't hurt you,” he said for the seventh time.  
   The angel's hands--claws--waved in an unfamiliar pattern. He glanced over, and it repeated the sequence.  
   “Right, unless you try to hurt me. She's here to protect me. Just think of her as another bodyguard. It's perfectly safe, I promise.”  
   The pretty brunette hiccuped. “Since when do angels have claws?”  
   He surprised her by laughing. “Yeah, you're not the only one who got that impression. Angel is her name. Since she's my Guardian, I thought it was an appropriate name.”  
   “Guardian Angel,” she said distantly. “Yes, I suppose that makes sense. What else would you name a…”  
   “Dragon,” he supplied. If she didn't know better, she would swear she heard laughter behind the word.  
   Kevin hunched down next to her with a shot glass. “Here, this might help.”  
   She laughed again, but dutifully swallowed the hard liquor. It burned on the way down, but after a few minutes, the dragon did look a little less terrifying.  
   It was hard to be afraid of it when it carefully palmed one of the infants and lifted it to its--her shoulder. She hadn't really recognized the squirming bundles as babies, but it made sense that she would drop down so they could reach the... nipples.  
   “Sorry, but why does she have nipples?”  
   Avi, Kevin, and the dragon laughed. At least, she _hoped_ that was laughter coming from the dragon!  
   “You meet the only dragon--yes, yes, celestial dragon--on Earth, and that's the first question you ask?”  
   She glanced at the dragon burping a human baby, and another rose to the fore:  
   “Actually, I'd also like to know how she knows sign language.”  
   Avi looked to the dragon for the answer, which said more than he realized.  
   “Because her voice, much like her namesake, is terrifying. As for the nipples…” he shifted uncomfortably, hesitated before continuing. “She needed to be able to feed her daughter.”  
   His girlfriend looked around for a baby dragon, but saw none. Avi cleared his throat awkwardly. “She's holding her daughter.”  
   While she was still processing that astonishing bit of information, he lay a hand on the massive shoulder, next to the infant. “She's ah… she's my daughter, too. But she was conceived before I met you, and Angel… went away, so I didn't know until a couple of weeks ago…”  
   The girl stumbled backwards, would have fallen if not for Kevin’s reassuring grip on her arms.  
   “You… with a dragon… wha… how..?”  
   He shuffled his feet, staring at the ground. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words seemed frozen in his throat. Eventually, he managed to croak “It's complicated.”  
   She looked at him, as though seeing him for the first time. “So… She's here to protect you, but she left..? I'm sorry, I just don't understand.”  
   The dragon's claws flicked again. Avi translated: “All I can tell you is that she went for training.”  
   She gulped before asking the next question. “And what does she protect you from?”


	49. Artificial Facts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avi has some 'splainin' to do.

The dragon's claws wove another pattern in the air. Avi would only say that there were some things that Austin wasn't trained to deal with.  
   Her patience snapped. “Do you have any original thoughts anymore, or does she answer all your questions for you now?”  
   The dragon growled, and she backed up against Kevin.  
   Avi squeezed the shoulder under his hand, and she stopped. That was all it took. He couldn't stop her from glaring at the human, but he seemed to be the one in control of her actions.  
   He thumped the dragon behind her shoulder, far enough from the infant to avoid harm. The girl flinched when his hand slapped against the formidable hide, but the dragon took no offense. The enormous eyes gradually settled to a featureless white. She returned to patting their daughter's back with a deceptively gentle paw.  
    _Their daughter_ … That still bothered her.  
   “Can we… talk, inside?” She didn't know that the dragoness could change size, so she thought it a safe place to talk in private. She didn't think anything that large could get through the door.  
   The dragon watched them with sharp eyes, even after the glass door slid shut. She got the impression it could still hear them, which was unsettling.  
   “So, let me get this straight… You slept with a… a dragon?!” An edge of hysteria crept back into her voice.  
   “No! She wasn't--” He stopped, physically unable to finish his thought. He tried again. “I did not sleep with a dragon. I don't even know how they… you know.”  
   Her jaw set, she asked how the baby was conceived.  
   “Well, I wasn't there when the babies were put inside her...”  
   A light went off in her head. She laughed with relief. “Oh! Why didn't you just tell me she was artificially inseminated?”  
   His mouth worked, but no sound escaped. Avi didn't know why he hadn't thought of that. Technically, he'd told the truth. Even Angel could have said it. He wasn't present. It was all done upstairs, so to speak. That didn't mean that they were never intimate, but she didn't need to know that part.  
   “Wait, babies? As in more than one? So that other baby is yours, too?”  
   He shook his head, trying to suppress a shudder. “No, the others were dragon eggs. Before you ask, they're upstairs getting the same training she got.”  
   She floundered. “Upstairs? You don't have an upstairs.”  
   He rushed to cover his faux pas. “Mountains. Dragons live in mountains. We just call it upstairs, in case someone's listening or something.”  
   “ _Ohhhhh!_ Because dragons are a secret, right?”  
   He answered her question with another question. “Have you ever heard of a live dragon being spotted since, I don't know, medieval times?”  
   She laughed. “You're right. Well, don't you worry. I won't tell a soul about your dragon.” She squeezed his arm lightly. “I know how much you love dragons. I won't jeopardize you getting a real one!”  
   He pulled her close and dropped a loud kiss directly on her mouth. “Thanks. Just one of many reasons I like you so much.”  
   She grinned up at him and kissed him back.  
   Kevin mock groaned on his way to the kitchen. “Get a room!”  
   Avi looked down at his beautiful girlfriend. “What a great idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I pictured the shoulder slap like Riddick thudding that cat thing until it turned gray. If you haven't seen the movie, you won't get the reference, and that's fine.


	50. Necessary Evils

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pros and cons of having amnesia

The dragoness knew what her Bonded was about. She simply blocked it out and tended the various whelps in the yard. The pale ones required shade at all times. The hooved ones refused to go anywhere near the furred one, so she opened the door just wide enough to drop it in the cloth and metal box.  
   The dark, pleasant male asked if she needed anything. She politely requested food, then turned back toward the younglings.  
   She was feeding the four-legged babes when the nice gentleman set something that smelled tasty near her. She thanked him, bent her head, and ate from the plate with no thought for appearances.  
   Kevin felt a twinge of dismay. Angel, the old Angel, wouldn't have eaten like a horse, or a dog. She'd have found a way to use her paws. _She really doesn't remember who she was,_ he thought sadly.  
   He went back into the house, unsure whether or not to wish she were herself again. Ever since the flashback, she spoke less. That meant fewer arguments, but also fewer jokes.  
   She no longer cared if her teats showed when she nursed, indoors or out. After a while, he'd grown used to it. She was more like a talking dog, these days.  
   The traces of humanity that had made things awkward, he was discovering, also made them more interesting. Before, he had to struggle to remember that she was in a bestial body. Now, he had to struggle equally as hard to remember that she was sentient.  
   “How long can this last?” he asked the empty room.

   The dragon in the yard had no such qualms. She did what must be done. When all of the hatchlings were fed, she brought the pale ones inside to deal with their soiled coverings. It was tricky with her talons, but she managed without human assistance. As she'd once said (but did not recall), she would do whatever she must, no matter the difficulty.  
   Thus, when it began to rain, she stood in it to shelter the foals. The smaller one's wings were not fully-formed, therefore vulnerable. The horned one attempted to snub her aid, but her wings could fill the entire yard if need be. Eventually, he gave up and stood a few feet away. He refused to huddle against her for warmth, as the feathered one did, but it was not her job to protect him from himself.  
   Come to think of it, why did she have so many strange younglings in her care? She was told that the tiny, quiet one was hers, but she gave her no more consideration than the others. They were all strangers to her.  
   She nearly asked her Bonded, mind to mind, before she recalled where he was. She snorted with disgust. How she came to bear his child, she could not fathom. She doubted he knew how to perform the act with a dragoness!  
   She settled into the increasingly muddy yard with a grunt of discontent. She resolved to ask her Bonded some questions when he was finished with his mate.  
   That word alone confused her. If the human was his mate, how and why had he conceived a child with her?  
   The questions plaguing her vanished into the ether when she scented something foul nearby. It wasn't near enough to sense on her draconic radar, but the wind was with her.  
   She hunkered further into the mud, pinning the foals beneath her wings. Both knew better than to resist, being prey animals.  
   Her massive head swiveled slowly; following the scent, then the “sight” of it as it approached.  
   It might have passed them by. It skulked among the shadows between their yard and the next, possibly assessing the neighbor's dog as its meal.  
   It didn't hear her rise up behind it. The shadow of the tree that it used for cover also disguised her shadow. She swayed with the tree, until with a lightning strike she bit it in two. She gulped it down and snatched the second twitching half from the grass near a panicking house pet.  
   She lay flat once more, to minimize the trauma to the dog. She heard the owner call to the damp animal, heard it streak indoors. They never knew their family pet had been saved, and they never would.  
   The dragon took the time to attempt to identify her prey. It had been barely bipedal, able to walk in daylight. She hadn't tasted fur on either half, and it wasn't as sour as an Unclean. It could have been anything from a rugaru to a wendigo. Any creature would have to be desperate to hunt during the day. The dragon chose to believe she'd put it out of its misery, if it was willing to settle for dog meat. Both supernatural creatures began life as humans, which never failed to disgust her. Both preferred human flesh.  
   Yes, she'd done a service, both to the miserable thing, and to the neighborhood.  
    _Who'd have thought a dragon could become a pillar of the community?_ she thought wryly. _An invisible pillar, to be sure, but no less sturdy._  
   She was heedless of the blood that trickled down, over her keel. The foals, however, were not.


	51. Changed Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe memories are what make us human... or dragon..?

Avi zipped his jeans, oblivious to the drama in the yard. His girlfriend ran a finger playfully down his lower back before swatting his butt.  
   “We should do that more often,” she purred.  
   He shrugged into his shirt. “Well, now that you've passed the dragon test, I don't see why we can't.”  
   She was silent. He glanced at her, wishing he could hear what she was thinking. Telepathy was handy in situations like this. You didn't have to guess. Would she always go still and quiet when he mentioned Angel?  
   A reluctant tap on the door stopped that train of thought before it turned disloyal. He opened the door a crack, mindful of his naked girlfriend.  
   Kevin stood there, shifting uncomfortably. “I hate to bother you, but it's raining, and Angel hasn't come in.”  
   Avi sighed. “I'll go check on her. Thanks.”  
   He shut the door and turned to the pretty brunette sprawled artfully across his bed. “I'll be right back, okay?”  
   She flapped a hand languidly. “Go on, just remember to use an umbrella, ‘kay?”  
   He nodded and left the room. The umbrella was near the front door. He looked out into the backyard, and there was his dragon, hunkered down in the mud. He sighed, opened the sliding glass door, and snapped open the umbrella.  
   He squished unhappily across the yard. The equines were trying to get away from his dragon, but she was forcing them to accept the shelter her wings offered. The whites of their eyes showed.  
   Avi looked around for the source of their terror, but saw nothing alarming. When he turned back, the puddle of red around his dragon's keel caught his eye.  
   He skidded the last few feet in his hurry to reach her.  
   “Angel? What's wrong? Where are you bleeding?”  
   His dragon stared calmly at him. “It is not my blood.”  
   He peered at the foals.  
   She shook her massive head. “It was something else. I didn't see what it was, but there was no fur or ichor.” She shrugged, the way only she could.  
   He wasn't sure he wanted to know where the corpse was, but he had to ask anyway.  
   She blinked at him. “The most efficient way to dispose of it was to eat it. ‘Twas unpleasant, but it spared the neighbor's dog, and the foals.”  
   Avi understood the terror in the equines’ eyes now.  
   “Okay, well, now that they're safe, let's get you inside. You need a bath.”  
   She shook her head. “There is no shelter for them. I must keep them dry.”  
   He debated how to break the news that she was doing more harm than a little rain would do. Fortunately, she'd ceased blocking him, and followed his thoughts to the terrified foals.  
   Her eyes flashed a sad blue. “Apologies, children. I shall remove the blood.”  
   She stood with thoughtless grace and strode toward the glass door. There she paused, uncertain how to avoid making a mess.  
   Kevin held out a beach towel, just inside the house. “He said you can shrink, so I thought…”  
   Avi saw what he was trying to do, which meant that Angel got the picture. She placed a sturdy forepaw on the towel, followed by a hind foot, and shrank to what the boys would later dub “travel size”. Kevin carried her to the bathroom and set her in the tub. He left the bathing to her Bonded human, however.  
   She stepped off the towel and draped it, folded, over the edge of the tub. Then she grew to the size of a large dog and waited for her human.  
   Seeing her sitting there, without complaint or jest, made Kevin a bit sad. She looked like a mere house pet, though he knew better.  
   Avi didn't notice the difference until he was soaping her body. Usually, she would flinch or turn if he was too close to her private parts. He had warning. This was not his Angel. She stood, quadrupedal, not moving until he asked her to. She raised a foreleg when requested, lifted her chin when prompted, as any simple beast (who understood english) would do. He couldn't see where the cloaca, or vent, or whatever, was located. He didn't even know what it felt like until his palm coasted over the hard, cup-shaped ridge.  
   He withdrew his hand immediately, but she was unfazed. In fact, she rose up bipedal to allow better access. After all, she reasoned, he had to see where the mud or blood was.  
   She was, therefore, nonplussed when he simply sat and stared. She looked, and saw that there was still mud around it.  
   “I cannot reach that,” she said pointedly. She couldn't understand why he left it muddy.  
   He blushed a bright pink. He knew she could get sick if there was mud… there… but he didn't feel right touching it.  
   “Don't look at me, she's your dragon,” Kevin said from the doorway. Then he walked away.  
   She gazed at him placidly, waiting.  
   He sighed, soaped his hands, and put them where they never been; as an angel or a dragon. She rested her forepaws on his shoulders while he worked. It kind of reminded him of a kangaroo, for some reason.  
   The “hood”, as he had jokingly called it, was aptly nicknamed. It was a hard, sort of conical projection that looked like part of a jet fuselage. He swiped diffidently at the rear-facing opening, just enough to make sure there wasn't mud on it, but he wasn't about to check inside. They could have Gwinn examine it later.  
   He stood, ostensibly to aim the shower spray. In reality, he needed distance from her disturbing detachment. This was no longer his dragon. There was no warmth, no humor. This was a beast who would protect him because it was her duty, not because she cared.  
   She stood, impassive, while he dried her hide. She only flinched when he dabbed the spot where the hood joined her abdomen. He made a mental note to be more gentle drying that spot, though the hood itself didn't seem overly sensitive.  
   “Sorry, I've uh… I've never had to clean there.”  
   She made no comment, simply stood on her hind legs and stared absently over his head. He wondered if she even heard him. His Angel would have acknowledged the apology, and shared his apprehension. Instead, she was remote, aloof.  
   He wanted his Angel back.


	52. Three Angels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Avi has to think fast!

Avi set aside the towel and rubbed soothing lotion into the emerald scales of his dragon, thinking of better days. One in particular haunted him, looking at the passive beast beneath his palms.

   Angel was sitting in the wings while they were interviewed; he couldn't remember by whom. She had gazed up at him with a bemused expression as he sauntered offstage. When they were alone, she'd asked him how he did it.  
   “Do what?” he asked.  
   “How do you separate supernatural mortal peril, and a successful music career? I mean, you're always so cheerful when we're in public. One would never guess the dangers I protect you from.”  
   “Easy,” he said with a grin. “I love what I do for a living.”  
   He looked at her, waiting for her to say something. She was never very good at reading people, so she remained silent.  
   Avi worried about his dragon. He'd hoped that she would profess to love her work as well, but she said nothing of the sort.  
   At length, he added “Plus I've got a dragon to protect me.” He'd tweaked a frill playfully; perhaps a touch possessively.  
   Belatedly, she twinkled up at him and said “Luckily for you, I enjoy my work just as much.”  
   He thought of those restless, tearful nights, but held his tongue. She would tell him what bothered her, when she was ready.  
   Except that now, she wouldn't remember what it was. He didn't know if that was a blessing or a curse.

   “How many dragons do you _have?_ ”  
   The shocked gasp brought Avi out of his reverie.  
   “What?” he asked, slightly disoriented.  
   His girlfriend pointed to the much smaller dragon in the bathtub. “That's not the same dragon I saw in the backyard. How many dragons do you have?”  
  _:It might be wise to keep the truth from her,:_ Angel advised unnecessarily. He didn't want his girlfriend to have her memory constantly erased. He would have to tell a convincing lie.  
   “Um, I think there are three. One for riding and fighting, one for guarding us indoors, and one for scouting.” That covered her three most common sizes, including “travel size”.  
   “You _think_ there are three? How do you not know?” she squeaked.  
   “Well,” he said, polishing one of Angel's wings with baby oil. He studiously avoided meeting her frustrated gaze. “They all answer to the same name.”  
  _:I do not know if that was clever, or insane,:_ the dragoness said dryly.  
   Her memories hadn't returned, but her wit certainly had!  
   “I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly. They all have the same name?”  
   He carefully oiled the other wing, thinking fast. “Well, if you think it would be less confusing, I guess I can give them different names. I'm not sure they'll answer to them, but I could try.”  
    _:Help?:_ he implored.  
   In a distinctly saucy voice, his dragon reminded him that she could not lie.  
    _:Yeah, well Angel isn't even your real name,:_ he shot back without thinking. His eyes widened when he realized his slip. He leaned back, alert for signs that her memory would return. He was afraid that it would trigger another seizure.  
   He let out a tiny sigh of relief when all she did was cock her head at him.  
  _:Indeed?:_ She treated him to one of her sinuous shrugs. _:Then by all means, give me whatever names you deem useful. Might I suggest Reaper for the form she fears most? I do my smiting in the larger form, so it makes sense.:_  
 _:Okay, so which is Angel, this size or the travel size?:_  
   She merely shrugged again.  
   The sound of a dainty foot tapping brought him around.  
   “Uh, well, this dragon doesn't seem to mind being called Angel. I'll ask the big one if she wants to go by…” He pretended to think. “Well, since she's the combat dragon, how about Reaper?”  
   His girlfriend paled at the reminder that he was at risk.  
   “The little one…” Here, he really did stop and think. “How about Whisper?” He nudged his dragon with his mind, sort of a wordless query. He kept his eyes on the brunette, out of courtesy.  
   He felt a mental shrug that was much like the dragon's physical motion: a subtle shimmer across his mind that ebbed into the background.  
  _:As you wish.:_  
   “Speaking of which, I need to check on her. Do you mind?”  
   The pretty girl scowled. “They're all girls?”  
   He donned his most charming smile, caught her around the waist. “You're jealous? They're dragons, not women. Like I said, I don't even know how they…”  
   “Reproduce,” Angel supplied helpfully. “It is true, he is ignorant of our ways.” She calmly stepped around the couple and sidled into the bedroom. There, she shrank to travel size and ducked into the living room to wait on the couch. Though she could not tell a lie, she could accept the falsehoods of others.


	53. Whisper

Angel curled up on the sofa, feigning sleep. Her earflap twitched when the humans walked into the living room, but she remained passive.  
   “Hey, Angel.” Avi sat down next to her. He picked her up and set her in his lap, as though she were a cat. Puckishly, she decided to act like one, in return for his perceived insolence.  
   Angel stretched lazily, her dainty claws mere inches from disaster. His spine stiffened. She grinned, knowing the girl would not interpret it correctly.  
   “And who is this?” she purred, looking inquisitively at the brunette. She neither knew nor cared what her name was, and if she were going to continue the charade, she mustn't know it. It would be a lie to say that she did not know the girl, but she didn't know her name; therefore, the question was both truthful and valid.  
   Avi stroked her tiny skull while he introduced them. Now, all three of her personas had officially met her.  
   “Say, uh, Angel, how would you feel if I gave you a different name from your… sisters?”  
   Angel cocked her head, not entirely certain how she did feel about it. It would be yet another secret for her to keep track of, but if he slipped, she could not be held accountable for answering to her proper name.  
   “It is for the girl that you wish it, yes?” She focused keen white orbs on the pretty young thing, who squirmed under her regard.  
   “It might be less confusing for her, yes,” he admitted. He knew that she had no problem with it. He lounged comfortably beneath her diminutive body.  
   She tilted her head the other way, ostensibly sizing the girl up for the first time.  
   “What name would you have me answer to?”  
   “I thought Whisper might suit you, since you're the observer.”  
   She looked up his long torso, seeming to weigh his words. At length, she said “I shall endeavor to remember this new name.”  
   Then, disinterested with the whole affair, she curled up and appeared to doze off.  
   They lounged for a while, watching television. Then something he hadn't thought of nearly derailed the whole farce.  
   Menolly got hungry.  
   The only solution she could think of was for him to distract the girl. The only distraction he could think of that would get her out of the room was sex.  
   Fortunately, she remembered that Whisper was supposed to be the scout. She excused herself on the pretense of going about her rounds. She could scan the neighborhood from the comfort of the bedroom, but the girl needn't know that.  
   She exited through the back door, then doubled back through the bedroom window. She grew to roughly human size before plucking the infant from her bassinet.  
   When Avi poked his head in the door, she was curled up on the bed with the baby. His girlfriend peeked under his arm and melted.  
   “Ohh, she's so _cute!_ What's her name?”  
   The dragon's eyes whirled anxiously. She mantled protectively over her child, glaring at the interloper.  
   Avi gently pried her away from the door, apologizing to both women. The human thought he was apologizing only to her, not that it mattered. His dragon knew his heart.  
   “She's protective of the baby, sorry. Not many people are allowed close to her.”  
   Sad eyes blinked damply at him. “But you said she's yours, too. Why can't I hold her?”  
   He chuckled, but it was forced past a lump in his throat. “Do you want to wrestle with a nesting dragon? ‘Cause _I_ don't! I just leave them alone most of the time.”  
   The sadness remained in her eyes. “But it's your baby, too! Doesn't she let you hold her?”  
   He smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. “Sometimes. Just imagine if she was a wolf, or a lion. She'd react the same way, right? Zoo lions might let their handler hold a cub, like for shots and things, but they won't put up with it for long. She was bred to protect, so I let her.” He shrugged, dropped onto the couch.  
   Her brow furrowed. “But… why did they… you know, get her pregnant with your… stuff?”  
   He'd had time to think about his answer, and the zoo analogy gave him the perfect segue.  
   “I think it was so she'd feel some sort of bond to me. She's smarter than a wild animal, but just as free-spirited. If she didn't feel obligated to protect us, she might fly away someday.” Belatedly, he added “All of them would.”  
   She was quick to ask which one actually gave birth to the baby. She'd already seen both of the larger dragons nursing the same baby, so he had to think fast.  
   “She did, but I don't think it matters. Women can nurse without giving birth. It's instinct. You saw that with… Reaper. She feeds those foals because they were orphaned.”  
   The lovely brunette softened perceptibly toward the dragoness she thought was still out in the yard. The maternal instincts of dragons weren't something she ever thought about.  
   “Say, does… Does Reaper think of you as an adult, or one of her orphans?”  
   He burst into laughter that bent him double for several minutes.  
_:That can be arranged,:_ the dragon in question chuckled.  
   Whether or not he liked it, his dragon was evolving before his eyes. She was developing distinct personalities for the different size categories. In a way, it made the lie more plausible, but it made him nervous, for no reason he could name.  
_What have I gotten myself into..?_ he wondered.


	54. Restless Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A night in her Bonded human's bed, when his girlfriend is gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long, but I had a surgical procedure, plus NaNoWriMo. Back on track!

When the baby was full and burped, Angel returned to the living room with her. She didn't bother changing sizes, since Whisper was supposedly on patrol. She curled up at her human’s feet like a dog, with Menolly tucked against her body. She knew that humans were rarely satisfied with one mating in a day, if a relationship was new, and she didn't wish to retrieve the baby while the mortals were thusly occupied.  
   As predicted, the girl led her human into the bedroom later that evening. She blocked him out, but kept an “eye” on the goings-on, in her peripheral. She held her child while she fed the equines, having forgotten to carry the bassinet into the living room. She traded her infant for the two in the cloth and metal box, when it was their turn to be fed.  
   All in all, she managed without his help. The nice gentleman who lived with them made her a simple meal, when she asked. He seemed perplexed, but was kind enough to cook for her.  
   Kevin shrugged it off. _Maybe she's forgotten how to cook,_ he thought sadly. _I'm really gonna miss her home cooking._  
   He glanced at Avi’s door a few times, but he wasn't going to disturb his friend's time with his girlfriend. It'd been too long since he saw her. Besides, Angel would know if anything happened.  
   The pretty brunette eventually opened and closed the door quietly. Kevin had gone to bed, but Angel lay with Menolly on the floor. She squeaked when she saw the dragon. She'd forgotten about “them”.  
   “I'm going now,” she whispered. Angel didn't know if she was afraid of waking Avi, or the baby.  
   The dragon courteously pointed to the purse on the table. “Be safe, and make sure you have everything before you leave. You mustn't drive distracted.”  
   The girl blinked in surprise. She was disoriented by the civility displayed by this bestial creature. She often forgot that it could speak, and think for itself.  
   “Of course. Um, I had my purse and phone…”  
   “I took the liberty of putting your cellular device in your purse, but I did not see your keys. You may want to check inside, to be certain you have them.”  
   Her mode of speech was odd, but the suggestion was sound. She felt around, and found both keys and phone. She nodded.  
   “Are you missing any jewelry?” Angel inquired.  
   She checked, shook her head.  
   “Then allow me to see you out.” She unwound from her coil, babe in arms, and escorted the lass to the door. “I expect we shall see you soon. Do be careful,” she said.  
   It was bizarre to hear a fearsome dragon speak like a butler. She was so disoriented that she didn't take advantage of the opportunity to get a closer look at Avi’s child.  
   Angel closed the door behind the woman and waited to be sure that she hadn't left anything behind. When she heard the car pull away, she locked the door.  
   The Guardian Angel returned to her human’s bedroom. She placed the sleeping infant in her bassinet and leapt into the still-warm spot on the bed.  
   Her Bonded rolled over, threw an arm and leg over her. The covers draped over her body, along with his limbs. The girl must have flung them over him when she left. She didn't mind. The night was chilly, and she enjoyed the extra warmth.  
   He mumbled something that must have been words in his mind, but she hadn't unblocked him yet. She mentally shrugged. He wouldn't make sense this late at night, anyway.  
   Something warm and pleasantly prickly pressed against her neck. _I'll never get used to that,_ she thought. Her human was very affectionate. He hugged and kissed his close friends and family, including her. He tugged on her frills, which was intended as affection, but merely confused her. It didn't hurt, but neither did it feel pleasant. Mortals baffled her.  
   Take, for instance, the child that slept nearby. She felt no attraction for the spry, bearded lad. He felt none for her, that she'd noticed. How, then, did the babe come to exist?  
   He hugged her then, in his sleep. _Even when he is not awake, he craves affection. I am thankful that dragons were not created with such a yearning._  
   She turned on her side facing him, reluctantly returned the embrace. _The things I do in the name of duty,_ she thought wryly. Her human self would not have considered a hug to be a hardship, but this detached creature with no memories did. She would not resent him for imposing. He was only human. She would care for him, and their offspring, because it was what she was made for, but she doubted she would understand the tasks required of her.  
   She rested her head above his on the pillow, and rumbled soothing not-words until he drifted back to sleep.  
   He woke several times throughout the night, but she did not sleep. She was free to calm him as often as necessary. Sometimes he shivered, despite her considerable body heat. Other times, he snuffled and rolled over. She was beginning to see him as a needy child that she must watch over, which made her burden easier to bear. An adult dragon would never rely so heavily on another, but she forcibly reminded herself how fragile her Bonded was. There was a reason she was sent to protect him.  
   The morning sun gilded tangled limbs and bedding. Their heads shared one pillow, while her wingtips rested on the other. Angel Watched the neighborhood around them, having nothing better to do. The whelps were fed, and he'd been asleep for some time.  
   When he woke, it was a slow process. She didn't blame him, after the uneasy night he'd had. He stretched as best he could with one leg wedged near her vent, and one arm beneath her neck. She lifted her head so he could regain circulation.  
   All at once, his eyes popped open.  
   “Angel?” he croaked.  
   “So you say,” she agreed.  
   “I thought you were… Where's my girlfriend?”  
   She stared down at him impassively. “She left last night.”  
   He stared at her with what she could only label as horror.  
   “You thought I was your mate? Do you always have such restless nights with her?” She cocked her head curiously.  
   He made a strangled sound she didn't recognize, and worked to disentangle their limbs.  
   Angel assisted him, for it was her duty. She remembered how the tangle was created, making it easy to unravel. When he was free, he would have fallen out of bed in his haste, but she was there to catch him. She was a diligent dragon.  
   “You need a bath,” he gasped, panting with the effort to escape.  
   She shrugged sinuously. She did not see the point in arguing that she'd bathed yesterday. “As you wish.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this one is getting so long that I'm starting a third book. If you don't see the prompt, it will be called "Avi's Children".


End file.
